Restore, reform or transform forestry education in Uganda?

The role of participatory approaches to forestry has increased dramatically, and meeting the needs of people is now seen as a primary function of forestry. These changes present both strategic and practical challenges, constraints and opportunities for forestry education. The important changes in forestry education include the shift from teacher-to student-centred learning and rapid technological developments. If forestry education is to meet its new challenges, it needs to undergo deep transformation. This paper discussesthe changing social perceptions and demands onto the forest sector and theirimplications to forestry education. It reflect on the current status of forestry education, and describes the drivers for change in the delivery of forest education in Uganda

Forest ecosystem services in Norway: Trends, condition, and drivers of change (1950–2020)

Some regions like Europe have experienced a net gain in forest areas over the last decades, but intact areas of natural forests are declining worldwide, accompanied by changes in forest ecosystem functions and benefits to humans. We conduct a biophysical assessment of trends, condition, and drivers of change of forest ecosystem services in Norway from 1950 to 2020. Four main results are highlighted. First, industrial forestry, large scale measures of re- and afforestation, and infrastructure development (e.g., roads and recreational homes) have been the main direct drivers of forest transformation. Second, deep transformations in the Norwegian economy shaped trends of forest ecosystem services over the study period. Third, with the shifts towards the tertiary (service) sector and the mechanization of forestry, the economic and material relations between forests and local communities are waning. Overall, people’s primary relationships to forests have shifted from livelihood to recreation. Fourth, forest management in Norway has largely favored provisioning services at the expense of supporting services and some cultural and regulating services. Consequently, while Norwegian forests retain strong capacity to deliver provisioning services, the overall ecological condition is relatively poor. Our assessment provides an approach to identify and explain trends of ecosystem services at a national scale, over a long period of time. We argue that growth in forest area and biomass are insufficient indicators for sustainable forest management, and that future forest polices would benefit from improved knowledge on forests ecological condition, resilience against climate change, and socio-cultural contributions to human well-being. Forest management Biophysical assessment Ecosystem service trends Ecosystem condition Fennoscandia NorwaypublishedVersio

The role of goal-setting in urban climate governance

This article argues that goal-setting is an important, albeit understudied, part of urban climate governance scholarship. By using goal-setting theory, the article introduces concepts and perspectives capable of shedding new light on the political aspect of cities' climate strategic work. Climate goal-setting is studied within a wider urban governance context, as a way to activate a multitude of internal and external actors for shared goals and purposes. The article analyses levels of ambiguities of urban climate goals, and in light of different politico-institutional settings it explores possible contextual implications for cities’ climate governance. Through a comparative analysis of four cities – Copenhagen, Cape Town, Oslo and Gothenburg, the article identifies two distinct approaches. An inclusive approach containing ambiguous all-encompassing climate goals, consensus-oriented political decision-making, a broad administrative entity with weak mandate and close and long-term stakeholder collaboration. An efficiency-oriented approach including clear and problem focused climate goals, instrumental political decision-making, a special-purpose administrative entity with a wide and clear mandate and targeted and temporary stakeholder collaboration. The article concludes by posing some key questions that should guide further research on the exact relationship between these variables

A finite element solver for modal analysis of multi-span offshore pipelines

Accurate determination of pipeline eigenfrequencies and mode shapes is essential to free span design. For pipelines resting on rough seabeds, multiple free spans are commonly located sufficiently close to be interacting, and finite element analysis (FEA) is then conventionally required to determine the modal response. In the present report, a tailor-made (specific purpose) FEA tool is developed to carry out modal analyses of multi-span offshore pipelines. The specific purpose FEA tool is thoroughly validated by comparisons to analytical results and to results obtained using the general purpose FEA software Abaqus. Several beam and pipeline configurations are studied, ranging from simplified analyses of simply supported beams to sophisticated analyses of challenging multi-span pipeline sections, using actual seabed survey data. The validation study therefore gives valuable insight into the dynamic response of multi-span subsea pipelines. Compared to general purpose FEA modeling, the specifically designed FEA tool offers more flexible adjustment of element resolution in critical areas, more efficient file storage utilization, and also allows the designer to improve aspects of the physical modeling. The latter includes the possibility of using a consistent soil stiffness formulation rather than a traditional lumped soil model with discrete springs, as well as applying different added mass coefficients in axial and transverse directions. The impact on the modal response quantities of adopting a consistent soil stiffness model and directional variation in added mass is investigated. In addition, a methodology for establishing the static configuration and the effective axial force distribution along the pipeline using the general purpose FEA software Abaqus is described

Institutions, Consensus and Conflict: Implications for Policy and Practice

Summary This article reflects on the challenges faced when the ideal of consensual communities is questioned. A more complex view of institutional relationships at the local level is envisaged, one which emphasises conflict as much as consensus. This, in turn, suggests some implications for institutional design and processes of conflict negotiation. A number of alternatives are explored, ranging from targeted, institutional design to more flexible, learning process approaches. Support for effective negotiation processes is highlighted, including the enhancement of claims?making capacity through processes of participation and empowerment. Due to the inherent uncertainties in both ecological and social dynamics, institutional design can never take a blueprint form. Instead, a flexible, adaptive style of dealing with institutional complexity and uncertainty is envisaged. Despite the necessity of disagreggating ‘community’ imagery for local?level implementation, such imagery can also be used strategically and effectively by local people and other development actors in struggles to define and direct processes of change. ancement of claims?making capacity through processes of participation and empowerment. Due to the inherent uncertainties in both ecological and social dynamics, institutional design can never take a blueprint form. Instead, a flexible, adaptive style of dealing with institutional complexity and uncertainty is envisaged. Despite the necessity of disagreggating ‘community’ imagery for local?level implementation, such imagery can also be used strategically and effectively by local people and other development actors in struggles to define and direct processes of change

A Comparative Analysis of Collaborative Natural Resource Governance in Two Protected Areas in Zambia

In Zambia, early models of natural resource governance were based on state-centric approaches to conservation and later, to some degree, based on Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) models. Both of the models delivered poorly in terms of improved biodiversity management, enhanced rural livelihoods, and rights-based benefits. A lack of productive dialogue, involvement, and participation of local communities in natural resource governance resulted in considerable conflicts between protected area managers and local communities, with substantial local political and socio-economic costs. Through a mixed-methods approach using a questionnaire, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, the Environmental Governance Systems (EGS) framework was applied to compare how interactions among political, economic, and civil society actors influence resource use and the state of resources in the state-led Kaingu chiefdom and the community-managed Kaindu Community Conservancy. Results show limited communication, cooperation, and coordination among the actors in both cases. Conflicting interests over the use of land, wildlife, forests, and fisheries among actors have led to strained relationships, limited interactions, and many negative outcomes in both cases. Both protected areas exhibit a top-down structure of natural resources governance with limited community participation, conflictual relationships among actors, corruption, lack of transparency, and low accountability. The CBNRM structures and processes need to be changed legislatively to improve local ownership and a sense of responsibility and legitimacy by restructuring the constitutions of CBNRM organizations and developing their human resource, financial, and logistical capacities. The study proposes a proactive transformative model for mitigating negative impacts on the state of resources and resource use

Conflict Management for Multiple Resource Users in Pastoralist and Agro-Pastoralist Contexts

Livelihood systems in rural social formations often involve the utilization of natural resources for multiple purposes (e.g. wetlands which are used for both cropping and for grazing) or by more than one user (as when rangelands are grazed by different herdowners or groups of herdowners). Disputes or conflicts are common in these situations, and institutional frameworks for resolving disputes and managing conflict have usually evolved in response.European Research Council (ERC

Early and accurate detection of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis by methylation markers in bile

Background and Aims Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is associated with increased risk of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Early and accurate CCA detection represents an unmet clinical need as the majority of patients with PSC are diagnosed at an advanced stage of malignancy. In the present study, we aimed at establishing robust DNA methylation biomarkers in bile for early and accurate diagnosis of CCA in PSC. Approach and Results Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was used to analyze 344 bile samples from 273 patients with sporadic and PSC-associated CCA, PSC, and other nonmalignant liver diseases for promoter methylation of cysteine dioxygenase type 1, cannabinoid receptor interacting protein 1, septin 9, and vimentin. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses revealed high AUCs for all four markers (0.77-0.87) for CCA detection among patients with PSC. Including only samples from patients with PSC diagnosed with CCA 36 months) as controls, and remained high (83%) when only including patients with PSC and dysplasia as controls (n = 23). Importantly, the bile samples from the CCA-PSCPeer reviewe

Vegetation structure and effects of human use of Dambos ecosystem in northern Mozambique

Original research articleThe Niassa National Reserve (NNR) is the most extensive conservation area in Mozambique and the third largest in Africa, encompassing 42,000 km2 of endemic miombo vegetation. Dambos wetlands occur within the wooded grassland and grassland vegetation of NNR and provide a wide range of Ecosystem Services (ES), including life support for animal species, regulation of water flow and prevention of soil erosion. It also generates income for the livelihoods of local communities by providing land for agriculture and harvesting of non-timber products. The dynamics of these ecosystems is poorly understood despite the contribution of the dambos to global biodiversity and ES. This research is the first preliminary assessment of the vegetation structure and composition of six dambos within NNR, selected using Google Earth, MODIS satellite images and an exploratory field visit. Field data collection was performed using a two-stage systematic sampling approach, along transect lines of 100 10m (0.1 ha), perpendicular to the dambos' flow. Square plots of 0.25m2 were established for grass survey within the transects where grass vegetation was measured, counted and identified. Data were analyzed with R software. The sociological position of each species was analyzed with regard to the vertical structure while for horizontal structure, the abundance, dominance, frequency and Importance Value Index (IVI) were determined. In order to understand the differences between dambos, evenness (H) and reciprocal of Simpson's heterogeneity index (Hill's N2) were calculated. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) and Cluster Analysis were also used to characterize the surveyed species communities. A total of 58 transects (5.8 ha) and 336 subplots were assessed, recording 110 woody and 73 grass species, respectively. The most common tree species were Vitex doniana, Burkea africana, Syzygium cordatum and Annona senegalensis, while for grass vegetation the most abundant species were Andropogon eucomus and Helictotrichon turgidulum. According to the IVI, the most dominant tree and shrub species were V. doniana, Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia, A. senegalensis and S. cordatum. Homogeneity (Hill's N2 ¼18.92) and evenness (H¼ 4.27) were, on average, low in all dambos. Dambo 2 was the most heterogeneous (Hill's N2 ¼18.21) while dambo 1 was the least heterogeneous (Hill's N2 ¼ 5.71). Dambo 6 was most equitable (H¼ 1.35) whereas dambo 2 the least equitable (H¼ 3.72). Using species abundance and based on PCoA and cluster analysis, four main groups of dambos were identified based mainly on the water gradient, with data variation captured by the first three axes reaching almost 83%. The p-value (0.42), suggested no significant differences between species communities in the dambos, and thus, human disturbances appear not to be enough to modify dambos microenvironment. Accordingly, the results suggest that human activities, at this level, do not necessarily affect the structure and diversity of dambos in the NNR. The results also suggest that the species A. senegalensis, Combretum psidioides, Crossopteryx febrifuga, Protea nitida, P. maprouneifolia and S. cordatum can be used as indicator dambo species in NNR, with high likelihood of occurrenceinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Linking notions of justice and project outcomes in carbon offset forestry projects: Insights from a comparative study in Uganda

Over the last 20 years, Uganda has emerged as a testing ground for the various modes of carbon forestry used in Africa. Carbon forestry initiatives in Uganda raise questions of justice, given that people with comparatively negligible carbon footprints are affected by land use changes initiated by the desire of wealthy people, firms, and countries to reduce their more extensive carbon footprints. This paper examines the notions of justice local people express in relation to two contrasting carbon forestry projects in Uganda, the Mount Elgon Uganda Wildlife Authority – Forests Absorbing Carbon Emissions (UWA-FACE) project and Trees for Global Benefit (TFGB). UWA-FACE closed down its initial operations at Mount Elgon after 10 years as a result of deep controversies and negative international publicity, whereas TFGB is regarded by many as an exemplary design for smallholder carbon forestry in Africa. Our approach builds upon an emerging strand in the literature, of empirical analyses of local people’s notions of justice related to environmental interventions. The main contribution of the paper is to examine how people’s notions of justice have influenced divergent project outcomes in these cases. In particular, we highlight the relative success of TFGB in the way it meets people’s primarily distributional concerns, apparently without significantly challenging prevalent expectations of recognition or procedural justice. In contrast, we illuminate how controversy across the range of justice dimensions in UWA-FACE at Mount Elgon ultimately led to the project’s decline. This paper therefore explores how attention to notions of justice can contribute to a fuller understanding of the reactions of people to carbon forestry projects, as well as the pathways and ultimate outcomes of such interventions