A Simple, Cost-Effective Method for Involving Stakeholders in Spatial Assessments of Threats to Biodiversity

Methodological aspects of scale-related impact assessment from changing land use/land cover (LULC) management and climate on river basin water resources and their management are discussed. Both control the interactive hydrological process dynamics that transfer precipitation input on the landscape to the different surface and subsurface water resources components and ultimately to river runoff draining the river basin. As the integrated water resources management (IWRM) concept does not sufficiently account for the landscape-related process dynamics associated with LULC management, it is enhanced to the integrated land and water resources management (ILWRM) approach. The latter requires, firstly, a consistent methodological concept and, secondly, a toolset for its implementation. The DPSIR (D = Drivers, P = Pressures, S = State, I = Impacts, R = Responses) approach is a suitable analysis concept in this regard and is enhanced by a Decision Information Knowledge System (DIKS). Both are implemented by means of the integrated land management system (ILMS) toolset developed at the University of Jena, Germany, and tested in numerous research projects in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America. The majority of river catchment studies focus on a particular scale. Upscaling and downscaling of the hydrological knowledge they generate requires the separation of the generic knowledge components from their modifying local specifications. The interdisciplinary ILWRM applications presented in this paper from two projects in South Africa and SE Asia address this challenge by applying a multi-scale nested catchment approach (NCA) and respective upscaling and downscaling techniques to regionalize hydrological knowledge between scales.

Differences in posttraumatic cognitions as well as in dealing with intrusions were investigated in relation to severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 668 paramedics (Switzerland and Liechtenstein) faced with either direct or indirect threats. PTSD was measured using the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS). The Posttraumatic Cognition Inventory (PTCI) assessed cognitions, and the Response to Intrusions Questionnaire (RIQ) assessed strategies used to deal with intrusions like thought suppression, rumination, and numbing. Dysfunctional posttraumatic cognitions and dysfunctional strategies in dealing with intrusions explained 25% of the variance of the PTSD symptoms. In the indirect threat group, 1.37% of subjects exhibited full PTSD compared to 5.91% of subjects in the direct threat group, while 3.74% of the indirect threat group and 14.06% of the direct threat group suffered from partial PTSD. Direct threats seem to have a higher chance of eliciting partial or full PTSD than indirect th...

Can they get along without us? Sustainability of donor-supported health projects in Central America and Africa

Numerous bats use the troposphere for hunting, commuting, or migrating. High-altitude flying bats face various direct and indirect threats, including collision with tall anthropogenic structures and aerial vehicles, aerial fragmentation, reduced insect biomass, and the altered ambient conditions associated with climate change. Furthermore, dust and chemical pollutants in the troposphere might impair the health and survival of bats. Such indirect threats are diffuse regarding their origin and effect on bats, whereas direct threats are site and context specific. Overall, troposphere habitat conservation is hampered by the “Tragedy of the Commons” because its stewardship is in the hands of many. We conclude that high-altitude flying bats are likely to become more threatened in the near future because of the increased use of the troposphere by humans. Therefore, we should target the protection of the troposphere for organisms, such as high-altitude flying bats, that strongly depend on intact skies.

Despite the recent values placed on integrating cultural resources into natural resource landscape conservation design, cultural resources are difficult to define, challenging to manage, are not integrated into analysis and planning until natural resource priorities are established, and face complex threats which are not fully understood. In this paper, we focus on how practitioners define threats to cultural resources through successive freelists, outlining eight categories in order to better align cultural resources with landscape-scale conservation design in North America. Identifying and understanding threat perceptions to cultural resources will improve their management and conservation. We find that although some practitioners recognise both direct and indirect threats, many clearly focus management decisions on direct threats such as the physical degradation of cultural resources. Indirect threats, including climate change or lack of funding, are also identified, but transcend daily management practice. While integrating cultural and natural resource conservation is critical, we need core studies to establish preservation priorities and shared definitions and identify key threats facing resources. We conclude that one potential path toward integrated conservation could be established by defining the shared threats facing both natural and cultural resources and explicitly developing a foundational model of threats for cultural resource conservation.

Malaria remains a major global public health problem causing over 400,000 deaths annually, mainly among children in sub Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the second largest and the fourth most populated country in Africa, is one of the most malarious countries in the world. An estimated 97% of its 71 million inhabitants live in high transmission areas. Together with Nigeria, DRC accounts for about 40% of the total estimated malaria cases worldwide, and for more than 35% of the total estimated malaria deaths. The national malaria control programme (NMCP) is committed to reducing malaria and the associated morbidity and mortality in DRC through the implementation of specific proven interventions. The aim of this thesis was to contribute to the improvement of malaria control activities in the DRC, through the provision of new evidence on the epidemiology of malaria and key control interventions, to support evidence-based policy making.
\nKinshasa, the capital of DRC, has been expanding very rapidly in the past 20 years (going from an estimated 3 million inhabitants to a current estimate of 10 million) and available evidence has shown that urbanization had a significant impact on the ecosystems and disease patterns, including malaria. However, in the context of scaling up of interventions, data on malaria distribution in Kinshasa are scarce; the latest epidemiological study was conducted in 2000. We conducted two cross-sectional surveys to update malaria risk stratification in Kinshasa, identify factors contributing to the distribution patterns, and update information on malaria control activities. Geo-referenced data for key parameters were mapped at the level of the health area (HA) by means of a geographic information system (GIS). The overall standardized malaria prevalence was 11.7%, showing a decline compared to previous studies. The spatial distribution showed higher malaria risk in the peri-urban areas compared to the more urban central areas. Compared to the Demographic and Health Survey 2007 (DHS-DRC, 2007), coverage of malaria control measures showed considerable progresses in a pattern inversely proportional to the malaria risk distribution: low LLIN coverage in the peri-urban areas and higher coverage in the centre of the city. The analysis of drivers of malaria in both children less than five years and individuals aged older than five years highlighted the variation of the effect of age and reported history of fever by level of endemicity. In low endemicity strata, a shift in the peak of malaria prevalence towards the older age groups was observed, while the history of fever in the last two weeks increased the risk of malaria in all age groups and regardless of the level of endemicity. Individual use of LLIN was associated with reduced risk malaria infection among children less than five years. The risk of malaria was lower among children less than five years of the wealthiest socio economic group. This risk map constitutes a strong basis for the planning of malaria control interventions in Kinshasa.
\nFollowing the publication of the results of two large open-label randomized controlled trials (SEAQUAMAT, AQUAMAT) that demonstrated the benefits of injectable artesunate over quinine in the treatment of severe malaria, and in line with the updated WHO guidelines, the NMCP changed the policy for treating severe malaria in children and adults from injectable quinine to injectable artesunate in 2012 A transition period of 3 years was set, including the need for operational research to support the national deployment. We conducted an operational comparative study of quinine and injectable artesunate for the treatment of severe malaria (MATIAS study) with the aims of assessing the operational feasibility of this introduction, providing national cost estimates, and assessing the acceptability of the new drug among both health care providers and patients. Our findings showed that all the operational parameters measured (time to discharge, interval between admission and the start of intravenous treatment, personnel time spent on patient management, and parasite clearance time) were equal or in favour of injectable artesunate. The mean total cost per patient treated for severe malaria in hospitals and health centres was also lower with injectable artesunate. There was a high acceptability by both health care providers and patients. These findings support the rapid scale up of injectable artesunate in the country. 
\nMass distribution campaigns of LLIN are accepted as the best approach to rapidly increase coverage and use. To promote correct and consistent use of distributed LLIN, the WHO recommends the integration of door-to-door visits with “hang up” activities into mass distribution campaigns. Integrating hang-up activities requires obviously additional human and financial resources. Since published data on the effects and cost of door-to-door visits with hang up activities on LLIN use are scarce, more evidence is still required to optimize the efficiency of national LLIN programmes. We used a LLIN mass distribution campaign in the province of Kasai Occidental that used two different approaches, a fixed delivery strategy and a door-to-door strategy including hang-up activities, to evaluate comparatively household LLIN ownership, access and individual use, and examine factors associated with LLIN use. We also compared the two delivery strategies with regard to the LLIN coverage achieved and the cost of implementation. Results showed that the mass distribution campaign was effective at achieving high LLIN ownership and use. Having sufficient numbers of LLIN to cover all residents in the household was the strongest determinant of LLIN use. Compared with the door-to-door strategy, the fixed delivery strategy achieved a higher LLIN coverage at lower delivery cost, and seems to be a better LLIN delivery option in the context of DRC. 
\nInformation on the number and distribution of malaria cases and deaths is fundamental for the design, implementation and evaluation of malaria control programmes. In many endemic areas, health facility-based data remain the only consistent and readily available source of information on malaria. Because of known inherent limitations, this source of date can underestimate the total burden of disease by a considerable fraction. In DRC, the use of rapid diagnostic tests has been expanded since 2010, leading to a marked increase in suspected malaria cases receiving a diagnostic test. Together with other management measures, this should improve the quality of the incidence rates obtained through the Health Monitoring Information System (HMIS). Based on household survey data, the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) of the University of Oxford has produced estimates of clinical incidence of malaria for the years 2000-2015 for all African countries, providing something like a reference value on incidence rates. We compared the malaria incidence rates obtained from the HMIS data in the DRC from 2010 to 2014 to the MAP modelled incidence rates for the same time period, in order to assess the relative reporting of the HMIS system. Our preliminary results showed that due to the expansion of parasitological diagnosis, the number of confirmed malaria cases reported and hence the fraction of incident cases captured by the HMIS data had increased substantially over time. By contrast, the number of incident malaria cases predicted by the MAP model had progressively decreased. Because of inconsistencies in reporting, it has been difficult to establish trends in malaria morbidity, but the unchanged high values of test positivity rates suggest malaria transmission remains high and stable over time.
\n

The International Relief/Development Project (IRDP) visited thirty projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America that successfully linked short-term emergency relief with longer-term social and economic development Case histories of these projects describe their planning and implementation and examine their developmental impacts. From the start, the IRDP intended to provide practical lessons for agencies engaged in disaster response. Therefore, the project was designed not as a rigorous academic study, but as a careful examination of nongovernmental organization experiences from which a composite picture of the acquired wisdom in this field could be drawn. In order to write the case histories, case writers read project documents and conducted field interviews with agency staff, project participants, local and national officials, the staff of other agencies working in the area, and any other relevant persons with knowledge of the project and its effects. In some cases, agency headquarters staff or former field staff were also interviewed.

The quality control of skin smears is an important tool in improving the diagnosis of leprosy. We evaluated the skin smears sent to us by 50 laboratory technicians of 29 projects in Asia, Africa and South America. The skin smears were judged according to taking, staining and reading. The correlation was altogether satisfactory. In reading, a low correlation was found in 11% (42 slides) and it was seen that the highest percentage of low correlations was found in the false negative smears. The evaluation of cases with a low correlation leads to the conclusion that using the new WHO classification of 1988 will not reduce the number of incorrectly classified cases. From 42 slides showing a low correlation of their BI results, 7% led to a different classification (paucibacillary instead of multibacillary or vice versa) according to the WHO definition given in 1982, but 8% according to the 1988 WHO definition.

For many years, rural development has been one of the priority goals of Dutch development co-operation. Rural development projects were seen as important drivers of development, as they provided the inputs for industrial development and increased export earnings, and contributed to food security. Stagnating agricultural production, environmental degradation and the concentration of poverty in the countryside were considered obstacles to further national development. Consequently, large investments were made in agricultural research and extension services, water management, natural resource management and integrated rural development.

For many years, rural development has been one of the priority goals of Dutch development co-operation. Rural development projects were seen as important drivers of development, as they provided the inputs for industrial development and increased export earnings, and contributed to food security. Stagnating agricultural production, environmental degradation and the concentration of poverty in the countryside were considered obstacles to further national development. Consequently, large investments were made in agricultural research and extension services, water management, natural resource management and integrated rural development.KeywordsRural DevelopmentProject AreaNatural Resource ManagementEvaluation ReportPoverty AlleviationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Preface G.Mavrotas & A.Shorrocks Foreword Obituary: Lal Jayawardena A.Singh PART 1: DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS IN RETROSPECT The Evolution of the Development Doctrine, 1950-2005 E.Thorbecke Turning Points in Development Thinking and Practice L.Emmerij From Sees to Sen: The Meaning of Economic Development W.Nafziger Inequality in Historical Perspective R.Jolly PART 2: INEQUALITY AND CONFLICT Health Improvements and Health Inequality During the Last 40 Years G.A.Cornia & L.Menchini Inequality and Corruption E.Uslaner Indivisibility, Fairness, Farsightedness and their Implications for Security S.M. Murshed Violence in Peace: Understanding Increased Violence in Early Post-conflict Transitions and its Implications for Development M.B. Hartwell PART 3: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND WELL-BEING International Convergence or Higher Inequality in Human Development? Evidence for 1975 to 2002 F.Noorbakhsh Investing in Health for Economic Development: The Case of Mexico N.Lustig A Wider Approach to Aid Effectiveness: Correlated Impacts on Health, Wealth, Fertility and Education D.Fielding, M.McGillivray & S.Torres Is Social Capital Part of the Institutions Continuum and is it a Deep Determinant of Development? S.Knowles PART 4: GLOBALISATION Stormy Days on an Open Field: Asymmetries in the Global Economy N.Birdsall A Quest for Pro-poor Globalisation M.Nissanke & E.Thorbecke International Migration in an Era of Globalisation A.de Haan PART 5: DEVELOPMENT FINANCE International Risk Tolerance, Capital Market Failure and Capital Flows to Emerging Markets V.Fitzgerald Prolonged Use and Conditionality Failure: Investigating the IMF Responsibility S.Marchesi & L.Sabani International Finance and the Developing World: The Next Twenty Years T.Addison PART 6: GROWTH AND POVERTY Gender and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and Evidence M.Blackden, S.Canagarajah, S.Klasen & D.Lawson Decomposing Growth: Do Low-income and HIPC Countries Differ from High-income Countries? P.Haaparanta & H.Virta Evaluating Targeting Efficiency of Government Programmes: International Comparisons N.Kakwani & H. Son Innovations, High-tech Trade and Industrial Development: Theory, Evidence and Policy L.Singh Manufacturing, Services and Premature De-industrialization in Developing Countries S.Dasgupta & A.Singh PART 7: DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Why Have All Development Strategies Failed in Latin America? G.Rozenwurcel Development in Chile 1990-2005: Lessons From a Positive Experience A.Garcia Hurtado Three Decades of Rural Development Projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa: Learning From Successes and Failures A.Zoomers Development Strategy, Viability and Economic Institutions: The Case of China J.Y.Lin, M.Liu, S.Pan & P.Zhang Institutions, Policies and Economic Development G.W. Kolodko Patterns of Rent-extraction and Deployment in Developing Countries: Implications for Governance, Economic Policy and Performance R.M. Auty Credit Co-operatives in Locally-financed Economic Development: Using Energy Efficiency as Lever R.McIntyre PART 8: DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS IN PROSPECT Development Through Globalisation? D.Nayyar Do we Need a New 'Great Transformation'? Is One Likely? F. Stewart Building Absorptive Capacity to Meet the Millennium Development Goals F.Bourguignon & M.Sundberg Applying Behavioural Economics to International Development Policy C.L. Anderson & K.Stamoulis The Human Dimensions of the Global Development Process in the Early Part of the 21st Century: Critical Trends and New Challenges M.Simai Development Questions for 25 Years L.Taylor

Non-governmental organizations (NGO) with humanitarian orientation from the European-Union countries are traditionally involved in joint projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Political and socio-economic changes in Eastern Europe attract the humane interest of numerous NGO in the former socialist countries and in Bulgaria as well. The significant question of the optimal building-up a fruitful collaboration in the public health sphere between the present institutions in our country and NGO-donors from abroad has already been posed. In 1996, HILFSWERK Austria (Vienna) has concentrated 60 per cent of its financial means in order to help the new democratic reforms in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Mongolia. The total amount of own and drawn-in financial means has been of US$ 50 mill. Of them, 31 per cent has been directed to projects designed to use in the social and public health spheres. In 1997-1998, the Bulgarian paediatric oncohaematological clinics in Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna have successfully participated in a joint project with HILFSWERK Austria providing necessary drugs and sanitary materials. The current state, problems, and perspectives of the collaboration between this NGO and these clinics mediated through the Dialogue Institute of Social Sciences and Social Policy in Varna can characterize by a typical manner the interrelations between the public health institutions and foreign humanitarian NGO in Bulgaria.

The global prevalence of leprosy has declined from 5.2 million in the 1980 s to 200,000 today. However, the new case detection rate remains high: over the last 8 years, around 220,000-250,000 people have been diagnosed with leprosy each year. In June 2013, an international meeting was organised by the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development in Geneva, Switzerland,2 with the objective of discussing the feasibility of interrupting the transmission of leprosy. The group of physicians, epidemiologists and public health professionals concluded that a successful programme would require early diagnosis and prompt multidrug therapy (MDT) for all patients, tracing and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for contacts of patients newly diagnosed with leprosy, improvements in diagnostic tools, as well as strict epidemiological surveillance and response systems to monitor progress. As a follow-up, a second expert group meeting was convened by the Novartis Foundation in January 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland, with the objective of reviewing the evidence for chemoprophylaxis in contacts and high-risk communities. The meeting also considered the definitions of 'contacts' and 'contact tracing', discussed alternative prophylaxis regimens, preliminary findings of operational pilot projects on PEP in Indonesia, as well as the development of diagnostic tools, and identified the priority questions for operational research in leprosy transmission. The meeting outlined how contact tracing and chemoprophylaxis programmes can be implemented to interrupt leprosy transmission. The expert panel reached the following conclusions: Chemoprophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin (SDR) is efficacious in reducing the risk of developing leprosy, although the protective effect appears to be smaller in contacts closer to the index patient than in more distant contacts.3 SDR can be targeted to contacts or implemented as community mass prophylaxis in certain circumstances; the preferred approach depends on local factors, such as the case detection rate, the level of community stigma against leprosy, and the degree of access to healthcare for patients and contacts. Alternative prophylaxis regimens and the role of post-exposure immunoprophylaxis need to be further investigated. Contact tracing combined with PEP across very diverse settings offers protection rates similar to those reported in controlled trials. For high-incidence pockets ('hotspots') or remote or confined high-incidence populations ('hotpops'), blanket administration of PEP may be a better option. Implementation of contact-tracing programmes is feasible and cost-effective, particularly in high-risk groups, but it should be integrated into local healthcare services to ensure their long-term sustainability. Funding and support must be maintained after an initial pilot has finished. New programmes for contact tracing need effective surveillance systems to enable appropriate follow-up and outcome evaluation. The Novartis Foundation and Netherlands Leprosy Relief (NLR) are currently developing and implementing a large international programme to demonstrate the feasibility, acceptability, cost-effectiveness and real-world efficacy of PEP as a strategy to interrupt leprosy transmission, in six pilot projects in Asia, Africa and South America. These new pilot projects will be developed together with the local health authorities, healthcare workers, communities and patients, in order to create local ownership from the outset. The pilots should aim to be scalable and sustainable, and should therefore include an objective outcome assessment. Local ownership ensures that locally appropriate language and definitions of contacts are used in each of the pilots. A test to identify subclinical disease and distinguish M. leprae exposure from infection would facilitate early and appropriate therapy (with PEP or MDT). The identification and validation of new, sensitive biomarkers for M. leprae infection and exposure may allow better targeting of PEP to those contacts at highest risk of developing leprosy.

Hydropower dams are back in the spotlight owing to a shifting preference for low carbon energy generation and their possible contribution to mitigating climate change. At the forefront of the renaissance of large hydropower dams are Chinese companies, as the builders of the world's largest dams at home and abroad, opening up opportunities for low- and middle-income countries. However, large hydropower dams, despite their possible developmental and carbon reduction contributions, are accompanied by huge economic costs, profound negative environmental changes and social impacts. Using fieldwork data from four hydropower projects in Ghana, Nigeria, Cambodia and Malaysia, this paper evaluates the behaviour of Chinese stakeholders engaged in large hydropower projects in Asia and Africa. We do this by first exploring the interests of the different Chinese stakeholders and then by investigating the wider implications of these Chinese dams on the local, national and international contexts. The paper concludes that hydropower dams will continue to play a prominent role in future efforts to increase energy security and reduce energy poverty worldwide, therefore the planning, building and mitigation strategies need to be implemented in a more sustainable way that takes into account national development priorities, the needs of local people and the impacts on natural habitats.

Abandoned mines and artisanal and small-scale mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Survey and agenda for future research