Fish and fisheries in the Sesan River Basin: catchment baseline, fisheries section

The present report was prepared for the Water and Food Challenge Program project “Optimizing the management of a cascade of reservoirs at the catchment level” (MK3). It constitutes the baseline assessment of fish and fisheries in the Sesan River Basin. The objective of the MK3 project is to contribute knowledge and recommendations so that cascades of reservoirs corresponding to hydropower dams in the Mekong Basin are managed in ways that are more fair and equitable for all water users. This project seeks to understand at the catchment scale the cumulative upstream and downstream consequences of management decisions taken for multiple reservoirs. Revised rules for water storage infrastructure management will in particular take into account fisheries and agricultural potential as well as hydropower ge

When spiritual values triumph over perceived commercial gains in tourism policy-making: The case of Bhutan’s Ura-Shinghkar golf course development

This paper argues that good governance in Bhutan’s controlled tourism model occurred because of pressures on the government to preserve spiritual values, ahead of perceived commercial gains, in the Ura- Shinghkar Golf Course Development (USGCD) case. The USGCD project would impact livelihoods; derange water supply to a hydropower unit and pollute the water table and rivers downstream. More significantly, it would disturb the sanctity of hermits who meditate in this spiritual heartland. The study revealed that spiritual values triumphed and led to the rejection of the USGCD project, thereby protecting the villagers’ grazing livelihoods

Conceptualization and operation of the Tourism Satellite Accounts System in Bhutan

Tourism is primarily a business enterprise that contributes to the economy of most nations. However, much of tourism’s economic contributions have been underestimated, because direct tourism revenues are often hidden amongst other supporting industries. The Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) System allows the capture of such tourism receipts. The aim of this report is to examine and identify the essential income receipts required to capture Bhutan’s tourism contributions to the economy. The report provides some insights into the challenges in tracing and capturing tourism receipts, since there is a lack of baseline information. The objective is to provide some inputs to the conceptualization and operation of TSA in Bhutan. The methods involved a review of the literature, an understanding of Bhutan’s tourism system and discussions with a tourism officer at the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB). A limitation of this report is that the perspectives presented are non-­‐numerical. The outcome of the report will help assist in future policy planning for both the government and the public sectors. Furthermore, a recommendation is made for resource allocation required to establish the implementation of TSA for the national interest

"To change of not to change?": The way forward for the GNH Tourism Model

Bhutan’s GNH tourism model began in 1974, with the notion of ‘high value, low volume’ through the mechanism of the tariff system, which has functioned well. In 2009, the model changed into ‘high value, low impact’. This change saw huge increases in tourist arrivals, under the Accelerating Bhutan’s Socio--‐economic Development (ABSD), through the McKinsey Report (2010). The McKinsey Report prioritises one of the 4 GNH Pillars: equitable and sustainable socio--‐ economic development. In 2012, tourist arrivals exceeded the proposed 100,000 visitors target, causing widespread impacts on the limited tourism resources and capacity. The aim of this report is to address some tourism challenges that continue to confront the GNH tourism model. The three objectives of this report are: first, to identify some of the tourism challenges; second, to provide strategies to manage these challenges, and third, to recommend changes in policy directions for GNH tourism to achieve its goal of ‘happiness’. The methodology used is a qualitative semi--‐structured interview of 36 tourism stakeholders. The data was analysed using the NVivo10 qualitative analysis program. The key finding reveals that Bhutan’s tourism remains controlled by a small minority of tour operators. Apart from structural recurring tourism challenges, three other significant challenges are identified that requires change: an uneven playing field; bad debts, and poor tour guides’ remuneration. Two key strategies to manage these challenges are: education and tariff liberalisation. Four policy direction changes are recommended to: educate the wider public about tourism review the tariff system, reduce bad debts and induce foreign direct investment, in order to achieve the GNH goal of ‘happiness’. If left to its status quo, the GNH tourism model faces danger as the notion of ‘high value, low impact’ remains elusive. 2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the GNH tourism model, and this provides the opportunity to review the tariff system in order to achieve equitable and sustainable tourism

Mechanical compatibility of sol–gel annealing with titanium for orthopaedic prostheses

Sol–gel processing is an attractive method for large-scale surface coating due to its facile and inexpensive preparation, even with the inclusion of precision nanotopographies. These are desirable traits for metal orthopaedic prostheses where ceramic coatings are known to be osteoinductive and the effects may be amplified through nanotexturing. However there are a few concerns associated with the application of sol–gel technology to orthopaedics. Primarily, the annealing stage required to transform the sol–gel into a ceramic may compromise the physical integrity of the underlying metal. Secondly, loose particles on medical implants can be carcinogenic and cause inflammation so the coating needs to be strongly bonded to the implant. These concerns are addressed in this paper. Titanium, the dominant material for orthopaedics at present, is examined before and after sol–gel processing for changes in hardness and flexural modulus. Wear resistance, bending and pull tests are also performed to evaluate the ceramic coating. The findings suggest that sol–gel coatings will be compatible with titanium implants for an optimum temperature of 500 °C

Disclosure to a Credulous Audience: The Role of Limited Attention

In our model, informed players decide whether or not to disclose, and observers allocate attention among disclosed signals, and toward reasoning through the implications of a failure to disclose. In equilibrium disclosure is incomplete, and observers are unrealistically optimistic. Nevertheless, regulation requiring greater disclosure can reduce observers' belief accuracies and welfare. A stronger tendency to neglect disclosed signals increases disclosure, whereas a stronger tendency to neglect failures to disclose reduces disclosure. Observer beliefs are influenced by the salience of disclosed signals, and disclosure in one arena can crowd out disclosure in other fundamentally unrelated arenas.disclosure; disclosure regulation; limited attention; credulity

Estimating the impact of current farm dams development on the surface water resources of the Onkaparinga River Catchment

The Mt Lofty Ranges Water Resources Assessment Program is an initiative of the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. The purpose of the Program is to quantify and assess the condition of surface and groundwater resources of the Mt Lofty Ranges Region. The assessments undertaken within the Program include hydrological modelling, reviews of the surface water monitoring network, the construction of new streamflow gauging stations, and the determination of environmental flows. These assessments are undertaken in partnership with other relevant agencies including catchment water management boards, the Environment Protection Authority, and the South Australian Water Corporation. This study is one of several comprehensive hydrological assessments of priority catchments in the region. Being the first, it provides an important technical foundation for collated reports assessing the resources across the region. In turn, these collated reports will inform policy decisions that will be made on future management of the natural resources in the region.repor

Long-Term Trends in Calcifying Plankton and pH in the North Sea

Relationships between six calcifying plankton groups and pH are explored in a highly biologically productive and data-rich area of the central North Sea using time-series datasets. The long-term trends show that abundances of foraminiferans, coccolithophores, and echinoderm larvae have risen over the last few decades while the abundances of bivalves and pteropods have declined. Despite good coverage of pH data for the study area there is uncertainty over the quality of this historical dataset; pH appears to have been declining since the mid 1990s but there was no statistical connection between the abundance of the calcifying plankton and the pH trends. If there are any effects of pH on calcifying plankton in the North Sea they appear to be masked by the combined effects of other climatic (e.g. temperature), chemical (nutrient concentrations) and biotic (predation) drivers. Certain calcified plankton have proliferated in the central North Sea, and are tolerant of changes in pH that have occurred since the 1950s but bivalve larvae and pteropods have declined. An improved monitoring programme is required as ocean acidification may be occurring at a rate that will exceed the environmental niches of numerous planktonic taxa, testing their capacities for acclimation and genetic adaptation

Preliminary investigations on an enzyme immobilized optical biosensor for arsenite detection

Arsenite is an inorganic form of arsenic that poses hazardous effect to human. It is a common environmental heavy metal contaminant ubiquitously found in water and groundwater. In this study, an optical biosensor for arsenite determination was developed by immobilization of crude arsenite oxidase (Aio) extracted from recombinant E. coli, in chitosan solution coated on triacetyl-cellulose membrane employing DCPIP as colour indicator. The arsenite oxidase (Aio) was successfully expressed and extracted from recombinant E. coli strain BL21 (DE3). The protein concentration and specific activity of the crude arsenite oxidase were determined. Expression of Aio was confirmed by SDS-PAGE. The crude Aio was also successfully immobilized in chitosan and coated on triacetyl cellulose membrane. The response time and dynamic range of the optical biosensor were optimized. The response time of the developed biosensor was 15 minutes. The amount of DCPIP reduced (ΔA) was inversely proportional to the arsenite concentration. Standard calibration curve for arsenite detection was achieved within the range of arsenite concentration from 25 μM to 200 μM. The maximum detection limit was determined to be 250 μM arsenite

The Influence of Gamma-rays on the Injury and Chromosomal Aberrations of Long Bean (Vigna sesquipedalis, Fruw.)

The effects of gamma-rays on three varieties of long bean (Vigna sesquipedalis, Fruw), namely Melaka, Local Black and Local Long were studied using Jive doses ranging from 10 to 50 kR. Both Chromosomal aberrations and characteristics related to physiological damage were used to study radiation sensitivity of the varieties. In general, gamma radiation did not affect % seed germination but caused a significant reduction in characteristics related to survival, growth and fertility. Percentage chromosomal aberrations also increased with increasing dose. As the measurement of seedling height is simple, quick and highly correlated with most characteristics studied, it could be a useful parameter in the study of radiation effects on long bean. Using a critenrion of approximately 30% reduction in seedling height or 50% lethality, it is suggested that doses ranging from 30 to 50 kR would be suitable for mutation induction in long bean