Rosewood of Madagascar: Between democracy and conservation

In 2009 an estimated 52,000 tonnes of precious wood from ca. 100,000 rosewood and ebony trees was logged in north - east Madagascar, one third originating from Marojejy National Park and its environs, the remainder from in and around Masoala National Park. At least 500,000 additional trees and many miles of vines were cut to make rafts to transport the heavy ebony and rosewood logs. Approximately 36,700 tonnes were shipped in 1,187 containers, almost all to China, for a total export sale price estimated at $US 220 million. In the SAVA region, members of the timber syndicate pocketed 76$ US 15.3 million. Of the three main companies that transported rosewood from Vohemar, Delmas benefited most; three banks also facilitated the illegal timber trade. Fraud is perpetrated by the syndicate and government administrators along every step in Madagascar’s precious timber trade in a coordinated effort to maximize profit and minimize taxes and fines. Poor governance and a lack of clarity in forest regulation have facilitated timber trafficking and undermined judicial control; during at least three periods (1992, 2006 and 2009 - 2010) escalation of rosewood exportation has been facilitated by government decrees issued prior to elections or during difficult political times, in each instance accompanied by ‘exceptional’ government orders allowing a few powerful operators to export massive quantities of wood – all part of a carefully orchestrated cycle. The near-silence of donors and NGOs is linked to their loss of influence following suspension of all but humanitarian aid since 17 March 2009

DC-conductivity of a suspension of insulating particles with internal rotation

We analyse the consequences of Quincke rotation on the conductivity of a suspension. Quincke rotation refers to the spontaneous rotation of insulating particles dispersed in a slightly conducting liquid and subject to a high DC electric field: above a critical field, each particle rotates continuously around itself with an axis pointing in any direction perpendicular to the DC field. When the suspension is subject to an electric field lower than the threshold one, the presence of insulating particles in the host liquid decreases the bulk conductivity since the particles form obstacles to ion migration. But for electric fields higher than the critical one, the particles rotate and facilitate ion migration: the effective conductivity of the suspension is increased. We provide a theoretical analysis of the impact of Quincke rotation on the apparent conductivity of a suspension and we present experimental results obtained with a suspension of PMMA particles dispersed in weakly conducting liquids

Technical Design Report for the PANDA Solenoid and Dipole Spectrometer Magnets

This document is the Technical Design Report covering the two large spectrometer magnets of the PANDA detector set-up. It shows the conceptual design of the magnets and their anticipated performance. It precedes the tender and procurement of the magnets and, hence, is subject to possible modifications arising during this process.Comment: 10 pages, 14MB, accepted by FAIR STI in May 2009, editors: Inti Lehmann (chair), Andrea Bersani, Yuri Lobanov, Jost Luehning, Jerzy Smyrski, Technical Coordiantor: Lars Schmitt, Bernd Lewandowski (deputy), Spokespersons: Ulrich Wiedner, Paola Gianotti (deputy

Physics Performance Report for PANDA: Strong Interaction Studies with Antiprotons

To study fundamental questions of hadron and nuclear physics in interactions of antiprotons with nucleons and nuclei, the universal PANDA detector will be built. Gluonic excitations, the physics of strange and charm quarks and nucleon structure studies will be performed with unprecedented accuracy thereby allowing high-precision tests of the strong interaction. The proposed PANDA detector is a state-of-the art internal target detector at the HESR at FAIR allowing the detection and identification of neutral and charged particles generated within the relevant angular and energy range. This report presents a summary of the physics accessible at PANDA and what performance can be expected.Comment: 216 page

Technical Design Report for the: PANDA Micro Vertex Detector

This document illustrates the technical layout and the expected performance of the Micro Vertex Detector (MVD) of the PANDA experiment. The MVD will detect charged particles as close as possible to the interaction zone. Design criteria and the optimisation process as well as the technical solutions chosen are discussed and the results of this process are subjected to extensive Monte Carlo physics studies. The route towards realisation of the detector is outlined.Comment: 189 pages, 225 figures, 41 table

The impact of natural resource use on bird and reptile communities within multiple-use protected areas: evidence from sub-arid southern Madagascar

Multiple-use protected areas, in which sustainable levels of extractive livelihood activities are permitted, play an increasingly important role in the global protected area estate, and are expected to rise in prevalence. However, we know little about their effectiveness at conserving biodiversity. We surveyed bird and reptile communities in three areas across a forest disturbance gradient resulting from charcoal production and shifting cultivation within a multiple-use protected area in Madagascar’s sub-arid spiny forest. We scored individual species using a Conservation Value Index (CVI; a simple metric based on rarity, threat and distinctiveness), and estimated the total conservation value of each treatment by calculating the sum of frequency-weighted CVI scores across all present species. Bird and reptile community responses to forest disturbance were idiosyncratic. Bird richness was greatest in the moderate-disturbance treatment, but the low-disturbance treatment had the superior conservation value due to higher frequencies of locally-endemic species. Reptile richness was the same in low- and moderate-disturbance treatments, but the conservation value of the latter was greater. The high-disturbance areas had lowest richness and conservation value for both groups. For birds, increasing disturbance levels were accompanied by community turnover from high-value to low-value species, a pattern highlighted by CVI that is masked by assessing species richness alone. Although some endemic species appear to be resilient to degradation, multiple-use protected areas in Madagascar may lose biodiversity since most endemic species are forest-dependent. Stricter protected area models may be more appropriate in areas where much of the high-value biodiversity is sensitive to habitat degradation

La consommation de bois de feu chez les ménages ruraux du district de Toliara II

Valorisation Durable des Formations Sèches Côtières, Toliara, MDG, 17-/09/2018 - 19/09/2018L'importance des ressources forestières dans l'économie agricole est multiple : filet de sécurité en période de soudure, surplus de revenu pour les ruraux. Les ménages pauvres sont vus comme plus dépendants des produits de subsistance, comme le bois de feu ou les plantes sauvages, que les ménagesriches. Pour une gestion durable et intégrée des ressources forestières, une étude des prélèvements en ressources ligneuses s'avère nécessaire. Dans le district de Toliara II, les prélèvements les plus courants en fourrés xérophiles et en forêt dense sèche sont pour le charbon et le bois de feu. Contrairementau charbon, le bois de feu est majoritairement consommé par les ruraux. L'objet de cette étude consiste à évaluer la quantité de bois de feu prélevée par la population rurale du District de Toliara II, pour sa consommation quotidienne. L'enquête menée auprès des ménages ruraux démontre que laquantité de bois de feu consommée est élevée, alors qu'on néglige souvent son importanc