Environment and Ecology

Background: The southern and eastern parts of the Gobi Desert area are a unique dry ecosystem with a diverse regional desert, semi-desert, and mountain dry steppe flora. This area habitat is located at the overlap of different floristic regions; on its northeast side, Central Asian desert flora is dominating, and on the eastern side, East Asian flora is observed. The comprehensive survey was carried out to find the floral diversity of the medicinal plants on the region. Methods: All recorded species in this study were based on the collected voucher specimens between June and August in the year 2017. Results: We recorded 23 families, 57 genera, and 78 species of vascular plants. The families Asteraceae (15 species), Fabaceae (10 species), and Amaranthaceae (10 species) were represented most in the study area, while Caragana (5 species), Salsola (4 species), and Arnebia (3 species) were the most common genera found. Conclusion: Conservation status for remarkable species was also reviewed based on the literature. Around the study area, 24 species as "sub-endemic," 10 species as "very rare," 4 species as "rare," 1 species as "alien," 13 species as "relict," 10 species as "Red Book," 2 species as "endangered (EN)," 3 species as "vulnerable (VU)," 3 species as "near threatened (NT)," and 2 species as "least concern (LC)" plants are growing.

The study investigated problems between migrant ethnic groups and the indigenous Agĩkũyũin Rũaka, Kĩambu County. After the construction of the Northern bypass, Rũaka opened up and this saw a number of investors coming into the area in large numbers to invest and some to settle. Migrants on the other hand, moved into Rũaka in a big way for reasons such as proximity to the City of Nairobi, family reunion and more viable commercialization. Having come from various socio-religio-cultural and economic backgrounds, the residents’ way of life was changed through their interactions with the migrants thereby giving rise to both positive and unpleasant challenges hence the main objective of the study: to investigate the arising problems between the host community and the migrants in Rũaka. A case study research design was employed and data was collected through documented sources, questionnaires and interviews. Similarly, Leonardo Boff’s and Clodovis Boff’s theory of mediation and Kasemann’s ...

Identifying the land use/land cover pattern and its changes plays a considerable role in assessing the impact of man's activity towards natural ecosystem. This study focuses on the agrarian land use change over the study region of Pudukkottai district which is situated in the semi-arid region of Tamil Nadu, India. Agriculture is one of the significant sources of income for the economy of the country and most of the people engaged in agriculture and its related activity in the study area. It needs deep monitoring of the changes in the agricultural land use at time to time to prevent mismanagement and poverty among the people of the Pudukkottai district. The present research observes the land use change of agriculture for two periods i.e. 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 using Landsat images from USGS. To execute the land use characteristics, the study adopted four indicators they are net total area of change, annual area of change, annual rate of change and dynamic degree. The study concludes that maximum changes happened during 2010-2015 and minimum changes happened during 2005-2015. Maximum of agricultural land has changed into wasteland followed by built-up land and wetland.

In dieser persönlichen Darstellung berichte ich über meine Wahrnehmungen, Erfahrungen und mein Verhalten während der Überschwemmungen 2011 in Bangkok, in denen mein Heim und die Nachbarschaft überschwemmt und schwer beschädigt wurden. In diesem Zusammenhang stütze ich mich auf die Autoethnografie als zunehmend populäre, wenn auch umstrittene qualitative Methode in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung. Trotz des persönlichen Zugangs einer Autoethnografie lässt diese breitere Schlussfolgerungen zu, die sich hauptsächlich aus der Betrachtung der Beziehung zwischen meinen Wahrnehmungen und Verhalten während der Katastrophe sowie meinen persönlichen Erfahrungen und meiner sozialen Stellung im Gegensatz zu den Wahrnehmungen und Verhalten meiner thailändischen Ehefrau, unserer Nachbarn und der Community ableiten lassen. Dieser Kontrast wirft Licht auf einen bisher in der Literatur wenig diskutierten Aspekt der thailändischen Kultur: der thailändischen Antwort auf Katastrophen.

Resumen. El fin que debe alcanzar cualquier proyecto de desarrollo, es el mejorar de un modo sustentable el bienestar humano y el equilibrio ambiental, es decir, producir un avance significativo en el desarrollo humano, sobre una base que sea viable económica, equitativa y ambientalmente sustentable. Si la realidad evidencia que efectivamente esto no ocurre, construir otras opciones se constituye en el horizonte ético, político y económico viable, lo que excluye a las grandes represas como lo corrobora el caso: "Crisis de Hidroituango". Palabras clave. desarrollo; destrucción; capitalismo; territorio; comunidades; victimas del desarrollo; hidroeléctricas, conflicto armado.

Disaster resilience is a topic of increasing importance for policy makers in the context of climate change. However, measuring disaster resilience remains a challenge as it requires information on both the physical environment and socio-economic dimensions. In this study we developed and tested a method to use remote sensing (RS) data to construct proxy indicators of socio-economic change. We employed machine-learning algorithms to generate land-cover and land-use classifications from very high-resolution satellite imagery to appraise disaster damage and recovery processes in the Philippines following the devastation of typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. We constructed RS-based proxy indicators for N=20 barangays (villages) in the region surrounding Tacloban City in the central east of the Philippines. We then combined the RS-based proxy indicators with detailed socio-economic information collected during a rigorous-impact evaluation by DEval in 2016. Results from a statistical analysis demonstrated that fastest post-disaster recovery occurred in urban barangays that received sufficient government support (subsidies), and which had no prior disaster experience. In general, socio-demographic factors had stronger effects on the early recovery phase (0-2 years) compared to the late recovery phase (2-3 years). German development support was related to recovery performance only to some extent. Rather than providing an in-depth statistical analysis, this study is intended as a proof-of-concept. We have been able to demonstrate that high-resolution RS data and machine-learning techniques can be used within a mixed-methods design as an effective tool to evaluate disaster impacts and recovery processes. While RS data have distinct limitations (e.g., cost, labour intensity), they offer unique opportunities to objectively measure physical, and by extension socio-economic, changes over large areas and long time-scales.

El concepto de sistema de innovación, acuñado hace un poco más de una década, se ha convertido desde entonces en una herramienta útil para ayudar a entender las diferencias en las tasas de progreso tecnológico que experimentan las naciones y regiones; y por ende, las diferencias en sus resultados económicos. Como cualquier concepto nuevo, su formulación y su ámbito explicatorio están en constante evolución: desde el uso inicial de metáforas para estructurar su signifi cado, pasando por establecer distintos niveles de análisis, hasta hacer esfuerzos por formalizar el concepto para que, eventualmente, se pueda convertir en una teoría que permita explicar procesos. De acuerdo con la tradición schumpeteriana, el crecimiento económico de los países está íntimamente ligado a la tasa de innovación tecnológica. Los países que han logrado tasas de crecimiento importantes han experimentado una reestructuración de sus aparatos productivos, en los cuales se hace uso de tecnologías más efi cientes en sus procesos al mismo tiempo que se incrementa la variedad de productos. Todo esto no solo genera un gran impacto en los mercados nacionales, sino que permite una mayor competitividad en los mercados internacionales. Esta visión resalta el rol de las empresas en los procesos de innovación tecnológica e incluso del avance científi co. Se deja así de lado el modelo lineal de innovación en el que la innovación tecnológica depende de los avances científi cos y de un posterior proceso de investigación aplicada y de desarrollo. Lo que se da en realidad es un proceso interactivo entre las distintas instituciones de investigación, empresas y clientes, en el cual cada agente aporta sus conocimientos y necesidades, que se constituyen en insumos necesarios para defi nir las características fi nales de la innovación y en el que se pueden sentar las bases para hacer

The study investigated problems between migrant ethnic groups and the indigenous Agĩkũyũin Rũaka, Kĩambu County. After the construction of the Northern bypass, Rũaka opened up and this saw a number of investors coming into the area in large numbers to invest and some to settle. Migrants on the other hand, moved into Rũaka in a big way for reasons such as proximity to the City of Nairobi, family reunion and more viable commercialization. Having come from various socio-religio-cultural and economic backgrounds, the residents’ way of life was changed through their interactions with the migrants thereby giving rise to both positive and unpleasant challenges hence the main objective of the study: to investigate the arising problems between the host community and the migrants in Rũaka. A case study research design was employed and data was collected through documented sources, questionnaires and interviews. Similarly, Leonardo Boff’s and Clodovis Boff’s theory of mediation and Kasemann’s ...

The German Institute for Development Evaluation (Deutsches Evaluierungsinstitut der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit; DEval) is mandated to evaluate the performance of German development cooperation interventions. Through its evidence-based evaluations and related work, DEval provides greater transparency about German development cooperation. The institute provides support to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to enhance its development cooperation policymaking, and ultimately to increase the effectiveness and impact of development interventions by the implementing agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) of Germany. The main functions of DEval are to: a) conduct evaluations, performance reviews and impact analyses; b) examine and refine relevant methods and standards; c) prepare and disseminate the findings of evaluations and methodological research; d) run training programmes in Germany and abroad; e) engage in national and international cooperation networks; and f) foster evaluation capacities in partner countries. About the Independent Evaluation Unit of the Green Climate Fund The Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) was established by the GCF Board as an independent unit, to provide objective assessments of the results of the Fund, including its funded activities, its effectiveness, and its efficiency. The IEU fulfils this mandate through four main activities: • Evaluation: Undertakes independent evaluations at different levels to inform GCF's strategic result areas and ensure its accountability. • Learning and communication: Ensures high-quality evidence and recommendations from independent evaluations are synthesized and incorporated into GCF's functioning and processes. • Advisory and capacity support: Advises the GCF Board and its stakeholders of lessons learned from evaluations and high-quality evaluative evidence and provides guidance and capacity support to implementing entities of the GCF and their evaluation offices. • Engagement: Engages with independent evaluation offices of accredited entities and other GCF stakeholders.

Ant communities are well suited for monitoring changes in ecosystems. Although numerous studies have examined the responses of ant communities to environmental disturbance, relatively few long-term studies on ant communities have been undertaken in urban environments. We examined species richness in nine urban parks in Hiroshima, Japan, and compared the survey results with data collected at the same sites by using the same methods in 1999. In both surveys, total of 25 species was recorded: 23 species in 1999 and 20 species in 2012. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that the ant communities consisted of two distinct groups, which could in turn be characterized by three patterns of ant community changes in between the two groups. The first of these community change patterns was characterized by a shift within group 1, but the number of species remained constant (approx. 10 species). The second pattern was characterized by a shift within group 2, but the number of species remained low (approx. 4 species). The third pattern was characterized by a shift from group 1 to group 2 as the abundance of Linepithema humile (Mayr) increased over time. Unlike the first and second patterns, the number of ant species in communities of the third type decreased significantly. These findings suggest that L. humile has a marked effect on the species diversity of indigenous ant communities in urban environments.

The study investigated problems between migrant ethnic groups and the indigenous Agĩkũyũin Rũaka, Kĩambu County. After the construction of the Northern bypass, Rũaka opened up and this saw a number of investors coming into the area in large numbers to invest and some to settle. Migrants on the other hand, moved into Rũaka in a big way for reasons such as proximity to the City of Nairobi, family reunion and more viable commercialization. Having come from various socio-religio-cultural and economic backgrounds, the residents' way of life was changed through their interactions with the migrants thereby giving rise to both positive and unpleasant challenges hence the main objective of the study: to investigate the arising problems between the host community and the migrants in Rũaka. A case study research design was employed and data was collected through documented sources, questionnaires and interviews. Similarly, Leonardo Boff's and Clodovis Boff's theory of mediation and...