National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans: Natural Catalysts for Accelerating Action on Sustainable Development Goals

In 2010, the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed to an ambitious set of 20 targets, called the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as part of their commitment to the CBD Strategic Plan. One of the Targets (Target 17) called for each country to revise its National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) in accordance with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. From 2010 to November 2016, virtually all countries have revised, or are currently completing the revision of, their NBSAP. As of November 2016, 123 countries (76 of them eligible for official development assistance) have submitted post-2010 NBSAPs. At the same time, the world agreed to an ambitious set of 17 Goals and 169 Targets in 2015, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The absence of a widely accepted taxonomy for describing NBSAP actions makes any systematic and cross-cutting analysis of NBSAPs difficult. Moreover, the collective contribution of specific NBSAP actions to SDGs has not yet been studied. The purpose of this report is to systematically understand the breadth and depth of actions proposed across all NBSAPs, to propose a common framework for analysis, and to understand the relationship between NBSAPs and the SDGsThe data in this report comes from more than 6000 actions included in NBSAPs of 60 countries. These NBSAPs have all been submitted to the Secretariat of the CBD after 2010, and all are from countries eligible to received funding from the Global Environmental Facility. The researchers tagged each of the actions in this analysis not only by the thematic categories and generic actions of this taxonomy, but also by the associated primary and secondary SDGs and their associated targets (as well as by Aichi Biodiversity Targets). In doing so, the collective impact of the contribution of NBSAPs toward fulfilling the SDGs is beginning to emerge. The data from this analysis are far richer and more complex than this interim report can convey. However, it is clear from this preliminary analysis that the impact of NBSAP actions extends far beyond Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and Goal 15 (Life on Land). The NBSAP examples of actions provided under each of the categories illustrate how a single action can contribute to multiple goals. The actions included across all NBSAPs would, if fully implemented, catalyze progress in national food security, water security, livelihoods, economic growth, disaster risk reduction, health, gender and climate resilience, among other goals. Furthermore, because NBSAPs are adopted as policy instruments, they provide a ready pathway for fast implementation of national sustainable development goals.Investing in biodiversity and ecosystems through NBSAP actions also ensures that no one is left behind in the implementation of the SDGs. Nature provides a safety net to billions of people around the world: 1.6 billion people depend on forests for jobs, livelihoods, food and fuel; one out of eight people depend on fisheries for their livelihoods; and more than 4 billion people depend on medicines derived from forests for their health.  Investing in nature helps ensure that the most vulnerable people in society, especially the more than 800 million people living in poverty, have a durable safety net.The recommendations included at the end of this report highlight the potential need for targeted support to countries to implement key thematic areas. The authors hope that this preliminary analysis will enable governments, and the organizations that support them, to focus their efforts on supporting those thematic areas that will have the most impact in accelerating progress in implementing NBSAP actions. They also hope this report will encourage donor organizations to consider supporting the implementation of NBSAP actions that have direct SDG outcomes

[Review of] Eileen Tway, ed., Reading Ladders for Human Relations

Reading Ladders for Human Relations is essentially an annotated bibliographical listing of books appropriate for young people. The books bave been grouped under five headings: (1) Growing into Self, (2) Relating to Wide Individual Differences, (3) Interacting with Groups, (4) Appreciating Different Cultures, and (5) Coping in a Changing World. The publication data of the majority of the works listed fall within the decade of the seventies. An alphabetical listing of publishers and authors and titles completes the book

Ion-exchange membrane with platinum electrode assembly Patent

Development and characteristics of ion-exchange membrane and electrode assembly for fuel cells or electrolysis cell

The Effects of Education Quality on Income Growth and Mortality Decline

Previous work shows that higher levels of education quality (as measured by international student achievement tests) increases growth rates of national income. This paper begins by confirming those findings in an analysis involving more countries over more time with additional controls. We then use the panel structure of our data to assess whether the mechanism by which education quality appears to improve per capita income levels is through shifting the level of the production function (probably not), through increasing the impact of an additional year of education (probably not), or through increasing a country's rate of technological progress (very likely). Mortality rates complement income levels as indicators of national well-being and we extend our panel models to show that improved education quality increases the rate of decline in infant mortality. Throughout the analysis, we find a stronger impact of education quality and of years of schooling in open than in closed economies.

Leadership and the independent regulator

Being a utility regulator has perils because the independence of the regulator necessarily removes power from politicians, operators, and others. Furthermore, regulators are sometimes scapegoats for unpopular policies and unavoidably become involved in shaping the policies that they are supposed to implement. As a result of such frictions, regulators are sometimes removed from office or marginalized in some way. How can regulators not only survive in such an environment, but also thrive? Jamison describes a leadership concept called adaptive leadership that regulators can use to help their countries adapt to new policies and changing situations, while allowing the regulator to stay in the game. The first leadership skill he discusses is the ability to get on the balcony to see what is really going on with operators, politicians, consumers, and others. Once this perspective is obtained, then the regulator can engage stakeholders in an adaptive process in which people make necessary changes to traditions and expectations, while hanging on to the things that are truly important. Regulators can do this by bringing attention to problems that people want to ignore because they involve difficult tradeoffs, providing certainty and stability when tensions become too high for work to be done, and keeping attention focused on the work and the issues.

Determination of water-glycol coolant flammability

Determination of water-glycol coolant flammability for Apollo spacecraf