206 research outputs found
Effects of thermal insulation on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing
This paper evaluates the effects of thermal insulation on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing in Uganda. Dynamic thermal simulations are conducted to assess the effects of wall, roof and floor insulation strategies. 96 combination scenarios are simulated for various geometries, insulation and construction methods. Adaptive approach is used to evaluate the conditions within the case study buildings. The results indicate that external wall insulation improves thermal comfort in all conditions whereas internal wall and floor insulation may deteriorate the conditions. Roof insulation is the most effective strategy to reduce the risk of overheating. Due to the effectiveness of roof insulation and marginal improvements of external wall insulation, especially for brick walls, wall insulation may be disregarded when used in conjunction with roof insulation
Redefining Water Security through Social Reproduction: Lessons Learned from Rajasthan's âOcean of Sandâ
One of the most urgent challenges facing the world today is ensuring local water security under rapid climate variability and change. This is of particular importance in a country like India, where over half of the people are involved in farming, and agricultural losses due to climate change are estimated to be as high as 30 per cent by 2080. This ethnography in the arid village of Bhiwadi, West Rajasthan empirically links the reintroduction of local water harvesting technologies with the building of sustainable social reproduction in subsistent communities. By emphasising both the role of gender and the informal economy â and institutions â this ethnography provides a more thorough picture of the individuals and collective actors involved in localised and resilient technologies within global economic and climatic processes
Assessment of solar shading strategies in low-income tropical housing: the case of Uganda
Developing countries in tropical and subtropical areas will be the worst hit by climate change. Very little research has been done to assess the impact of climate change on thermal comfort in low-income housing in these regions. The effects of solar shading strategies and solar absorptance properties of walls and roofs on thermal comfort in Ugandan low-income housing are studied in this paper. Various shading strategies including curtains, roof and window overhangs, veranda and trees as well as effects of painting on solar heat gain and thermal comfort are modelled using EnergyPlus software. An adaptive approach for naturally ventilated buildings defined by the European Committee for Standardization standard BS EN 15251:2007 is used to assess the conditions. According to the results, solar shading is less effective in meeting thermal comfort requirements and it should be used in conjunction with other strategies to achieve desirable results. White painting, in contrast, significantly improved the conditions and significantly reduced the risk of overheating. Solar shading proved to be effective during the hottest periods of the year, reducing the risk of extreme overheating by up to 52%
The analytical framework of water and armed conflict: a focus on the 2006 Summer War between Israel and Lebanon
This paper develops an analytical framework to investigate the relationship between water and armed conflict, and applies it to the âSummer Warâ of 2006 between Israel and Lebanon (Hezbollah). The framework broadens and deepens existing classifications by assessing the impact of acts of war as indiscriminate or targeted, and evaluating them in terms of international norms and law, in particular International Humanitarian Law (IHL). In the case at hand, the relationship is characterised by extensive damage in Lebanon to drinking water infrastructure and resources. This is seen as a clear violation of the letter and the spirit of IHL, while the partial destruction of more than 50 public water towers compromises water rights and national development goals. The absence of pre-war environmental baselines makes it difficult to gauge the impact on water resources, suggesting a role for those with first-hand knowledge of the hostilities to develop a more effective response before, during, and after armed conflict
Livelihoods, conïŹict and aid programming: Is the evidence base good enough?
In conflict-affected situations, aid-funded livelihood interventions are often tasked with a dual
imperative: to generate material welfare benefits and to contribute to peacebuilding outcomes.
There may be some logic to such a transformative agenda, but does the reality square with the
rhetoric? Through a review of the effectiveness of a range of livelihood promotion interventionsâfrom job creation to microfinanceâthis paper finds that high quality empirical evidence
is hard to come by in conflict-affected situations. Many evaluations appear to conflate outputs
with impacts and numerous studies fail to include adequate information on their methodologies
and datasets, making it difficult to appraise the reliability of their conclusions. Given the primary
purpose of this literatureâto provide policy guidance on effective ways to promote livelihoodsâ
this silence is particularly concerning. As such, there is a strong case to be made for a restrained
and nuanced handling of such interventions in conflict-affected settings.Department for International Development - PO511
Recommended from our members
Barriers of solar energy uptake and the potential for mitigation solutions in Barbados
Understanding the barriers that inhibit the deployment of renewable energy technologies to achieve long-term reductions in carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels is paramount to Barbados. Although there are targets towards renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal) uptake, the share of these technologies in the energy mix does not exist in Barbados due to the total dependence on fossil fuels. In this paper, a review of potential challenges and the main problems for deployment of alternative energy sources is presented. Through interviews, questionnaires with a focus group of key personnelâs, the paper documents the lack of renewable energy sources (with emphasis on solar energy) as one of the main alternatives to meet the carbon emission targets set by the country. The barriers and challenges facing the implementation of solar energy deployment have been clarified. From the results, it is evident that significant policy barriers still exist at the country level, which has reduced the effectiveness of a concerted national effort to deploy renewables. The current policy landscape which benefits from fossil fuel imports, the lack of technical know-how and the lack of research and development in the renewable energy space are amongst the key barriers identified. The paper also outlines the key policyâs frameworks, regulatory environment and the lack of incentives, which encompasses the renewable energy sector, and presents a critical analysis of the barriers faced by the industry. A mitigation framework is proposed to bridge the gap of solar energy (renewable energy) deployment
Culture in sustainable infrastructure: the polycentric cultural framework model
The state of infrastructure and services is widely perceived as a measure of development and a major catalyst for growth in both developed and developing economies. However, financing, maintaining and replicating existing infrastructures in areas of need have been mostly ineffective. In view of the widespread failures and poor state of infrastructure and services, there is a need to review current delivery and procurement frameworks. Given that sustainable infrastructure is also an essential prerequisite for sustainable development, this paper presents a polycentric cultural framework for infrastructure and service delivery; a framework which emphasises the integration of infrastructure users, communities, public and private sectors throughout the process of conceptualisation to actual delivery of infrastructure, by taking the recipientsâ culture, beliefs and values into account. The framework also emphasises the use of systemic referendum among stakeholders by way of the traditional consultative processes and the collaborative consensus paradigm to achieve an effective and sustainable delivery of infrastructure and services
Involving Local Fishing Communities in Policy Making: Addressing Illegal Fishing in Indonesia
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing has been identified by the UN as one of the
seven major threats to global maritime security; it causes loss of economic revenue, severe
environmental damage, and far-reaching livelihood implications for coastal communities.
Indonesia, by far the biggest archipelagic state, faces enormous challenges in all aspects of
IUU fishing and addressing those is one of the current Indonesian Governmentâs top priorities.
This article addresses the under-researched dimension of how IUU fishing affects fishing
communities. With the use of collage making focus groups with fishermen from different
Indonesian fishing communities, the research highlights the interrelated environmental
(depletion of resources), socio-economic (unbridled illegal activities at sea), cultural
(favouritism) and political (weak marine governance) dimensions of IUU fishing as
experienced at the local level. However, the research also indicates a strong will by fishermen
to be seen as knowledge agents who can help solve the problem by better dissemination of
information and cooperation between the local government(s) and the fishing communities.
The article concludes by arguing for the involvement of local fishing communities in national
and international policy making that addresses IUU fishing
Building resilience to climate risks through social protection: from individualised models to systemic transformation.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisherâs website: https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12339This article analyses the role of social protection programmes in contributing to people's resilience to climate risks. Drawing from desk-based and empirical studies in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, it finds that social transfers make a strong contribution to the capacity of individuals and households to absorb the negative impacts of climate-related shocks and stresses. They do so through the provision of reliable, national social safety net systems-even when these are not specifically designed to address climate risks. Social protection can also increase the anticipatory capacity of national disaster response systems through scalability mechanisms, or pre-emptively through linkages to early action and early warning mechanisms. Critical knowledge gaps remain in terms of programmes' contributions to the adaptive capacity required for long-term resilience. The findings offer insights beyond social protection on the importance of robust, national administrative systems as a key foundation to support people's resilience to climate risks.Published versio
Lost in authoritarian development:Have global climate deals and the aid community sacrificed the Vietnamese highland population?
- âŠ