Social impacts of carbon offsetting schemes in the global south – Illustrative cases of forest carbon sequestration projects in Uganda and Mexico

The issue of climate change is an ever-pressing challenge that is being addressed with an increasing urgency by countries around the world. It has led to the emergence of carbon markets to measure and limit the emission of Greenhouse gas (GHG) as well as to the development of the so-called green economy. A system for carbon compensation has also been established, according to which carbon emissions, which are currently mostly produced in industrialized countries, can be offset by emission-reduction projects, usually in developing countries. Such carbon offset projects either aim at preventing emissions from taking place or bind CO2 from the atmosphere, and they are often forestry related. The logic appears sound as it makes sense to develop such projects where it is the cheapest, and in addition the purpose is to bring development to the local communities. It is in theory a triple-win solution of global conservation gains, greener economic growth, and poverty alleviation. In practice, those projects seem however to be plagued with problems, like the eviction of local peasants from their ancestral land, heightened conflicts in the local communities and the degradation of local ecosystems. This thesis aims at researching and analyzing the social impact of carbon offsetting schemes in the Global South, understanding the main root causes of those impacts and proposing ways how existing and future projects could be improved to bring the best outcomes. Since I am studying the impact of carbon markets promoted by essentially former colonizers on local populations in former colonies, the theoretical chapter deep-dives on the concepts of post- and neo-colonialism to better understand the ways of thinking and acting of both sides. Another theoretical concept which is key for this thesis is that of the commodification and neo-liberalization of nature since carbon has become a commodity in the “green” economy, implying that everything can be quantified. This notion, however, finds its limitation when faced with the eco-social systems made of natural cycles and the human realm. Since forestry projects are the most common carbon offset initiatives, I needed to also study the literature on land tenure rights as they are a key component on how local communities are impacted by carbon offset projects. In the second part of the thesis, I apply the theoretical framework to three cases selected in Uganda and Mexico where I study the contrasting perspectives brought up by project sponsors, western expats working on the ground and representatives from local communities. In doing so, and since I was not able to carry out direct field research, I am relying on the knowledge of experts who have been involved in the projects described or have done research on them. I conclude that carbon offsetting schemes, as designed and implemented so far, can bring a negative social impact on local communities, especially when they consist of industrial scale monocultures of trees. I then suggest three concrete propositions to improve the selection, planning and implementation, as well as the follow-up of carbon offset projects so as to optimize their impact on local communities

Report of a case of systemic amyloidosis in a horse

Les amyloïdoses sont un groupe de maladies dont la caractéristique commune est le dépôt d’une substance amyloïde dans le milieu extracellulaire. L’amyloïdose est le plus souvent de type AA ou AL selon le type de protéine à l’origine du dépôt (respectivement la protéine SAA ou les chaînes légères des immunoglobulines). On distingue des formes généralisées et localisées d’amyloïdose en fonction de la distribution de la substance dans les tissus ou organes. Les formes généralisées, les plus courantes chez le cheval, sont les amyloïdoses de type AA dont l’évolution est secondaire à un processus inflammatoire chronique. Les formes localisées chez le cheval sont quant à elles plus souvent de type AL. Nous présentons ici un cas original d’amyloïdose généralisée, probablement de type AA, diagnostiqué à l’autopsie, secondaire à un processus infectieux chronique sous-cutané et osseux.Amyloidosis is a group of disorders characterized by extracellular deposits of amyloid in various tissues and organs. According to the type of protein deposited amyloidosis can be an amyloid light chain amyloidosis (deposit of immunoglobulin light chain) or an amyloid A amyloidosis (deposit of serum amyloid A protein). Amyloidosis is localized or systemic based on tissue distribution. Systemic amyloidosis in horses is mostly an amyloid A amyloidosis secondary to chronic inflammation or infection. Localized amyloidosis in horses corresponds mainly to an amyloid light chain amyloidosis. We present here a case of systemic amyloidosis, probably an amyloid A amyloidosis, diagnosed at necropsy, secondary to a chronic subcutaneous and osseous infection

Evaluation of a multivariate syndromic surveillance system for West Nile virus.

Background: Various methods are currently used for the early detection of West Nile virus (WNV) but their output is either not quantitative or does not take into account all available information. Our study aimed to test a multivariate syndromic surveillance system in order to improve early detection of WNV. Method: Weekly time series data on nervous syndromes in horses and mortality in both horses and wild birds were used. Baselines were fitted to the three time series and used to simulate 100 years of surveillance data. WNV outbreaks were simulated and inserted into the baselines based on historical data and expert opinion. Univariate and multivariate syndromic surveillance systems were tested in order to gauge how well they detected the outbreaks; detection was based on an empirical Bayesian approach. The systems’ performances were compared using measures of sensitivity, specificity, and area-under-ROC-curve (AUC). Result: When data sources were considered separately (i.e. univariate systems), the best detection performance was obtained using the dataset of nervous symptoms in horses compared to those of bird and horse mortality (AUCs respectively equal to 0.80, 0.75, and 0.50). A multivariate outbreak detection system that used nervous symptoms in horses and bird mortality generated the best performance (AUC = 0.87). Conclusion: The proposed approach is suitable for performing multivariate syndromic surveillance of WNV outbreaks. This is particularly relevant given that a multivariate surveillance system performed better than a univariate approach. Such a surveillance system could be especially useful in serving as an alert for the possibility of human viral infections. This approach can be also used for other diseases for which multiple sources of evidence are available

Equine abortions : review of a three-year study in Calvados (France)

Specialist laboratories in Lower Normandy found that approximately 25% of equine abortions are of unknown aetiology. The objective of the present study was to improve diagnostic tools on aborted foetuses using sensitive and specific molecular biology methods, and to evaluate the impact of pathogens so far given little consideration in equine abortion studies. The chosen protocol included DNA and RNA extractions from different foetal organs and placenta, as well as the storage of foetal tissues for pathology analyses. We present here preliminary PCR results identifying a few abortion- inducing pathogens, and the first French results on Leptospira, viral arteritis virus and Neospora caninum obtained from over 400 foetuses. Herpesviruses remain the main pathogens detected, due to improved detection methods (5%), whereas Leptospira, Neospora caninum and the EVA virus together account for 2.25% of newly identified cases. Further analyses on other pathogens are ongoing. This study is expected to reduce to less than 15% the rate of equine abortions of unknown origin.Les causes indéterminées d'avortement en Basse Normandie représentaient environ 25 % des cas confiés aux laboratoires spécialisés. Le but de ce travail a consisté à améliorer les outils de dépistage sur avortons en utilisant des méthodes de biologie moléculaire sensibles et spécifiques, et à évaluer l'importance de certains pathogènes encore peu recherchés dans les avortements équins. Le protocole retenu comprenait des extractions d'ADN et ARN sur plusieurs organes cibles de l'avorton et le placenta ; des tissus foetaux étaient conservés en vue d'analyse anatomopathologique de confirmation. Nous présentons ici les résultats préliminaires obtenus en PCR sur quelques causes d'avortement, ainsi que les premiers résultats français portant sur l'identification des leptospires, du virus de l'artérite virale et de Neospora caninum chez plus de 400 avortons. L'amélioration des méthodes de détection permet de montrer que les herpès virus demeurent les principaux pathogènes mis en cause et représentent 5 % des causes précédemment non déterminées, les leptospires, le parasite Neospora caninum et le virus de l'artérite virale, représentant quant à eux 2,25 % de ces causes. Certaines analyses sont en cours pour d'autres pathogènes et l'ensemble de ce travail devrait permettre de descendre à moins de 15 % le pourcentage des causes indéterminées d'avortement chez la jument

Estimating the incidence of equine viral arteritis and the sensitivity of its surveillance in the French breeding stock

Equine viral arteritis (EVA) may have serious economic impact on the equine industry. For this reason, it is monitored in many countries, especially in breeding stock, to avoid its spread during breeding activities. In France, surveillance is mainly based on serological tests, since mares are not vaccinated, but difficulties in interpreting certain series of results may impair the estimation of the number of outbreaks. In this study, we propose specific rules for identifying seroconversion in order to estimate the number of outbreaks that were detected by the breeding stock surveillance component (BSSC) in France between 2006 and 2013. A consensus among multidisciplinary experts was reached to consider seroconversion as a change in antibody titer from negative to at least 32, or as an eight-fold or greater increase in antibody level. Using these rules, 239 cases and 177 outbreaks were identified. Subsequently, we calculated the BSSC's sensitivity as the ratio of the number of detected outbreaks to the total number of outbreaks that occurred in breeding stock (including unreported outbreaks) estimated using a capture-recapture model. The total number of outbreaks was estimated at 215 (95% credible interval 195-249) and the surveillance sensitivity at 82% (CrI95% 71-91). Our results confirm EVA circulation in French breeding stock, show that neutralizing antibodies can persist up to eight years in naturally infected mares and suggest that certain mares have been reinfected. This study shows that the sensitivity of the BSSC is relatively high and supports its relevance to prevent the disease spreading through mating

Resumeq: A Novel Way of Monitoring Equine Diseases Through the Centralization of Necropsy Data

The French surveillance network for causes of equine mortality (Resumeq) was created in 2015 for the qualitative surveillance of equine mortality through the centralization in a national database of necropsy data and their subsequent epidemiological analysis. It was designed to identify the causes of equine mortality, monitor their evolution over time and space, and detect emerging diseases as early as possible. Resumeq is an event-based surveillance system involving various players and structures. It is organized around a steering body, a scientific and technical support committee and a coordination unit. Different tools have been developed specifically for Resumeq. These include standardized necropsy protocols, a thesaurus for the anatomopathological terms and the causes of equine death, and an interactive web application so that network contributors can display data analysis results. The four French veterinary schools, seventeen veterinary laboratories, and ten veterinary clinics already contribute to the production and centralization of standardized data. To date, the data from around 1,000 equine necropsies have been centralized. While most deaths were located in western France, the geographic coverage is gradually improving. Data analysis allows the main causes of death to be ranked and major threats identified on a local, regional or national level. Initial results demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of this national surveillance tool. Moreover, in the future, this surveillance could take an international dimension if several countries decided to jointly capitalize on their necropsy data

lightbound

The feeling of connectedness with our close friends and family is fundamental to the human pursuit of happiness. While we can’t always share everyday life in each other’s physical proximity, we have grown accustomed to rely on networked technology. Yet, the commonly used screen-based devices – such as smartphones – often fail to mediate the simple notion of togetherness. As an alternative approach, a specifically designed awareness system could add profoundly posi-tive experiences to daily remote communication. At the same time, the quickly growing open-source community offers tools for also non-experts of technology to nimbly explore new solutions from their own fields of expertise. To conclude, positive experiences of remote presence as a starting point, open-source technology as a possibility, I’m re-addressing the topic of “How might open-source technology be harnessed to foster connectedness across distance in close, personal relationships?” with an expressive and aesthetical, as well as case-specific approach. In the first part of this thesis I will define general design principles for an awareness system based on previous examples in the field of Human Computer Interaction. In the Process-section I will further specify the challenge with a particular user-case scenario, and through a series of iterative prototyping, design the Lightbound-concept. Further on, in the Results-chapter I will share in-sights from testing the technology in real-life context. For watching the concept video, please visit lightboundproject.com

Imagerie par résonance magnétique du cartilage articulaire et de l'os sous-chondral chez le cheval

Cette thèse se décompose en 3 parties. La première partie traite des moyens nécessaires à la réalisation d examens d IRM chez le cheval vivant. Les choix relatifs au matériel et aux séquences adoptés sont développés et justifiés au chapitre I. L étude de l influence du matériel complémentaire, spécifique du cheval, sur la qualité de l image par résonance magnétique fait l objet du premier article. La deuxième partie concerne la validation de l IRM pour la détection des lésions du cartilage articulaire et de l os sous-chondral de l articulation inter-phalangienne distale du cheval. Elle comprend deux articles. Le premier présente une évaluation du potentiel diagnostique d un équipement IRM bas champ . Le second compare la qualité diagnostique de cet équipement à celle d un équipement haut champ . La troisième partie correspond à une approche de l intérêt clinique de l IRM chez le cheval. Un premier article présente une synthèse des indications potentielles de l IRM pour la région du pied. Les deux articles suivants étudient des cas cliniques qui confirment l intérêt de l dans le cadre du diagnostic précoce de lésions ostéochondrales.This thesis is divided in 3 parts. The first part deals with the equipment and the sequences developed to make MRI examinations of the live horse possible. Choices relative to these equipment and sequences are developed and justified in the chapter I. A study of the influence of the complementary and specific equipment on the image quality is presented in the first paper. The second part validates MRI for detection of articular cartilage and subchondral bone lesions of the distal interphalangeal joint. This part contains 2 papers. The first paper presents an evaluation ofthe diagnostic potential ofa low field MRI equipment. The second paper compares the diagnostic potential of this low field equipment to the one of a high field equipment. The third part presents an approach of the clinical interest of MRI of the horse. A first paper presents a synthesis of the potential indications of MRI for evaluation of the equine foot. Two other papers represent studies of clinical cases. Both papers confirm MRI interest for early diagnosis of osteochondral lesions.PARIS12-CRETEIL BU Multidisc. (940282102) / SudocSudocFranceF