An optimization model to allocate forestry incentives funds in teak plantations of the southern-coastal region of Guatemala

Guatemala is internationally recognized as a country suitable to invest in the forestry industry. The first Guatemalan Forest Incentive Program – PINFOR- was implemented in 1996 to foster local forestry through cost-sharing. However, it lacks both formal land use planning processes and mechanisms to assess economic potential of projects, so it is questionable whether funds have been invested efficiently. Subsidies as a means to stimulate productive activities have been the subject of criticism and controversy, even though they have been effectively applied in other Latin American forestry sectors. Effects of subsidies and the landowner response to assistance have been relevant topics in international research. Little work however is encountered regarding project-level public funding allocation criteria. In the 1970s, Murphy (1976a; 1976b) and Gregersen et al. (1979) developed rational criteria to allocate public funding among projects which combined economic assessments, investment financial need estimation, program budget limitations, ranking-based selections and linear programming. These works provide the basis to develop a pilot, regional-scaled study in the Southern-Coastal region of Guatemala reported here. This study proposes a multi-period mixed integer linear programming model to allocate public funding from the PINFOR program among 101 simulated teak projects within a 15 year future planning horizon. Simulation is performed with stochastic assignment of project size, locally representative silviculture, timber production and land market features, and geographically located through spatial analysis. Economic analysis of project financial performance yields optimal rotation ages of 9 to 14 years at social and private discount rates between 8% and 14%. The model formulation provides an optimal solution to the 15-year funding allocation problem faced by PINFOR that maximizes long-term contribution of projects to social benefits. Model requirements include compliance with program budget limitations and non-economic requirements of forest cover and future employment. Within the pool of projects simulated, between 38 and 88 are evaluated as socially profitable depending on the discounting scenario and the rotation regime, but only between 18 and 46 meet the condition of socially profitable – privately unprofitable. Optimal allocation assigns about 1,200 hectares to future enrollment in the PINFOR program. Financial requirement is estimated as strongly variable and ranges between $0 and$2,603 per hectare. The optimal overall social benefit from the simulated project base ranges between $3.3 and$5.6 million of net present value with a strong allocation of the most socially profitable projects within the first four years. Present value of the subsidy allocation is estimated as of $90,700 for the lower discounting scenario to$306,300 for the higher discounting scenario, and allocation strongly favors the single rotation regime within the region. One of most interesting outcomes of the study is that the optimization model and the Gregersen et al. methodology allocate funding similarly even while they are methodologically different; the general rule is that projects highly socially profitable and requiring little financial assistance are preferred for an earlier allocation

Choline [amino acid] ionic liquid/water mixtures: A triple effect for the degradation of an organophosphorus pesticide

A series of ionic liquids (ILs) composed by choline (Ch) as a cation and different amino acids (AA) as anions and their respective aqueous mixtures were prepared using different [Ch][AA] contents in a range of 0.4-46 mol % IL. These solvents were used for the first time to achieve an eco-friendlier Paraoxon degradation. The results show that [Ch][AA]/water mixtures are an effective reaction medium to degrade Paraoxon, even when the IL content in the mixture is low (0.4 mol % IL) and without the need of an extra nucleophile. Both the kinetics and the degradation pathways of pesticides depend on the nature of the AA on [Ch][AA] and the amount of an IL present in the mixture. We have demonstrated that in those mixtures with a low amount of [Ch][AA], the hydrolysis reaction is the main pathway for Paraoxon degradation, showing a catalytic effect of the IL. However, as the percentage of [Ch][AA] increases in the mixture, the nucleophilic attack of [Ch][AA] is evident. Finally, the aim of this study was to provide evidence of a promising and biocompatible methodology to degrade a toxic compound (Paraoxon) using a minimal quantity of an IL designed totally from natural resources.Fil: Pavez, Paulina. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Figueroa, Roberto. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Medina, Mayte. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Millán, Daniela Andrea. Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins. Centro Integrativo de Biología y Química Aplicada; ChileFil: Falcone, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Tapia, Ricardo. Universidad Católica de Chile; Chil

Efficient Nucleophilic Degradation of an Organophosphorus Pesticide “Diazinon” Mediated by Green Solvents and Microwave Heating

An efficient strategy for the degradation of organophosphate pesticide Diazinon was investigated. In this work, ionic liquids, bio-based solvents, and two conventional organic solvents were used as reaction media. Kinetics studies by means of half-life (t1/2,h) were followed by 31P NMR and the products analyzed by GC-MS, HPLC-MS and NMR techniques. These results have shown that t1/2 values in ionic liquids were the lowest and also they were able to activate two electrophilic centers in Diazinon, whilst degradation in bio-based solvents occurred slowly by only an aromatic pathway. In addition, a study to estimate the influence of green activation techniques was carried out by using Ultrasound irradiation and Microwave heating in combination with greener solvents and two conventional organic solvents. Under Microwave heating, faster degradation than under ultrasound irradiation was found. Finally, considering both families of solvent used here and their behavior under green activation techniques, we propose that the more efficient way for degradation of Diazinon with piperidine is by microwave heating using ionic liquids as solvents

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021: Unmasking disparities by ethnicity, caste and gender

This report provides a comprehensive picture of acute multidimensional poverty to inform the work of countries and communities building a more just future for the global poor. Part I focuses on where we are now. It examines the levels and composition of multidimensional poverty across 109 countries covering 5.9 billion people. It also discusses trends among more than 5 billion people in 80 countries, 70 of which showed a statistically significant reduction in Multidimensional Poverty Index value during at least one of the time periods presented. While the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on developed countries is already an active area of research, this report offers a multidimensional poverty perspective on the experience of developing countries. It explores how the pandemic has affected three key development indicators (social protection, livelihoods and school attendance), in association with multidimensional poverty, with a focus predominantly on Sub-Saharan Africa. Part II profiles disparities in multidimensional poverty with new research that scrutinizes estimates disaggregated by ethnicity or race and by caste to identify who and how people are being left behind. It also explores the proportion of multidimensionally poor people who live in a household in which no female member has completed at least six years of schooling and presents disparities in multidimensional poverty by gender of the household head. Finally, it probes interconnections between the incidence of multidimensional poverty and intimate partner violence against women and girls

Desigualdades no Ensino Secundário Municipal: O caso da Província de Concepción

he purpose of this paper is to describe some inequalities observed in secondary education in the Province of Concepción. More specifically, it shows that: a) there are inequalities not only between municipalized and private education but also within municipalized education. b) Significant differences are not always observed between private and municipalized education in terms of the possibilities of access to higher education. c) There is a strong migration of students from municipalized education between the municipalities of the Province of Concepción. However, this migration does not occur from municipal to private education.El presente trabajo, tiene por objeto describir algunas inequidades que se observan en la enseñanza media en la Provincia de Concepción. Más específicamente se muestra que: a) hay desigualdades no sólo entre la educación municipalizada y la particular sino también dentro de la municipalizada. b) No siempre se observan diferencias significativas entre la enseñanza particular y la municipalizada en cuanto a las posibilidades de acceso a la educación superior. c) Existe una fuerte migración de estudiantes de la enseñanza municipalizada entre las comunas de la Provincia de Concepción. Sin embargo esta emigración no se produce desde la enseñanza municipalizada a la particular.O objetivo deste documento é descrever algumas das desigualdades observadas no ensino secundário na Província de Concepción. Mais especificamente, mostra que: a) existem desigualdades não só entre a educação municipal e privada, mas também dentro da educação municipal. b) Nem sempre existem diferenças significativas entre a educação privada e municipal em termos das possibilidades de acesso ao ensino superior. c) Existe uma forte migração de estudantes da educação municipal entre os municípios da Província de Concepción. Entretanto, esta migração não ocorre do ensino municipal para o privado

Exact boundary controllability for higher order nonlinear Schrodinger equations with constant coefficients

The exact boundary controllability of the higher order nonlinear Schrodinger equation with constant coefficients on a bounded domain with various boundary conditions is studied. We derive the exact boundary controllability for this equation for sufficiently small initial and final states

Influencia de la península de Mejillones en la variabilidad oceanográfica anual e interanual frente al norte de Chile

La península de Mejillones (23°S) es un bloque estructural que se proyecta más de 40 km desde la costa en la zona norte de Chile dando forma a las bahías de Mejillones y Moreno abiertas hacia el norte y el sur, respectivamente. La variabilidad oceanográfica de mesoescala asociada a esta península fue analizada utilizando información satelital de temperatura superficial del mar, concentración de clorofila-a, transporte de Ekman y corrientes geostróficas. Mediante el uso de diagrama Hovmöller y Funciones Empíricas Ortogonales estacional e interanual se demuestra el rol que juega la península de Mejillones en la variabilidad de los parámetros oceanográficos en el norte de Chile. El decaimiento latitudinal de la temperatura y clorofila es interrumpido abruptamente por la presencia de la península. La forma y orientación de las bahías de Mejillones y Moreno favorecen la retención de aguas de surgencia y la producción biológica reflejada en altas concentraciones de clorofila observadas, esto ocurre independiente de la temperatura y el transporte predominante en la cabeza y al sur de la península. La península interrumpe y desvía hacia el oeste la trayectoria de la corriente de chorro, la que varía estacionalmente de intensidad y puede alejarse más de 100 km desde la costa. Además, los resultados muestran la existencia de una latitud crítica (~22,8°S) o de transición en la que se produce un cambio marcado en la distribución latitudinal del transporte de Ekman.The Mejillones Peninsula (23°S) is a structural zone extending more than 40 km off the north coast of Chile giving shape to the bays of Mejillones and Moreno which are oriented to the north and south of the peninsula, respectively. The mesoscale oceanographic variability associated with the peninsula was analyzed utilizing satellite information on sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration, geostrophic currents and Ekman transport. The role of the shape of Mejillones Peninsula in the annual and interannual oceanographic variability of the parameters is revealed by means of Hovmöller diagrams and Empirical Orthogonal Functions. The latitudinal decrease of temperature and chlorophyll is abruptly interrupted by the peninsula. The form and orientation of the Mejillones and Moreno bays favor the retention of upwelled waters and the biological production reflected in the high chlorophyll concentration. This occurs independently of the predominant temperature and Ekman transport in the head and south of the peninsula. The peninsula interrupted and deviates to the west the trajectory of the jet stream, which varies seasonally in intensity and could go more than 100 km from the coast. In addition, the results show the existence of critical latitude (~ 22.8°S) or transition in which there is a marked change in the latitudinal distribution of Ekman transport