Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Filamentous Chloroflexi species are often present in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants in relatively low numbers, although bulking incidences caused by Chloroflexi filaments have been observed. A new species-specific gene probe for FISH was designed and using phylum-, subdivision-, morphotype 1851- and species-specific gene probes, the abundance of Chloroflexi filaments were monitored in samples from 126 industrial wastewater treatment plants from five European countries. Chloroflexi filaments were present in 50% of the samples, although in low quantities. In most treatment plants the filaments could only be identified with phylum or subdivision probes, indicating the presence of great undescribed biodiversity. The ecophysiology of various Chloroflexi filaments was investigated by a suite of in situ methods. The experiments revealed that Chloroflexi constituted a specialized group of filamentous bacteria only active under aerobic conditions consuming primarily carbohydrates. Many exo-enzymes were excreted, e.g. chitinase, glucuronidase and galactosidase, suggesting growth on complex polysaccharides. The surface of Chloroflexi filaments appeared to be hydrophilic compared to other filaments present. These results are generally supported by physiological studies of two new isolates. Based on the results obtained in this study, the potential role of filamentous Chloroflexi species in activated sludge is discussed.

The World Food Summit in 1996 set the goal of reducing by half the numbers of malnourished people in the world by 2015. It is unlikely that this will be reached, and particularly not in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Food imports in SSA have increased in the past 40 years, since domestic production could not keep up with population growth. Several studies have reported about this stagnating food production in SSA. However, this region encompasses a large number of countries, with a great variety of agroecological zones and large differences in land, labour and other resources. The objectives of this paper are to analyse agricultural production and food security in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past 40 years, and to investigate to what extent these countries have followed different agricultural development pathways and are faced with different constraints. The analysis is largely based on statistical data, mainly from FAO, and on other information from various national and international sources. It shows that some of these countries have struggled to achieve and maintain overall national food security, while others have been able to achieve more than that and increased production at a faster rate than population growth. It subsequently analyzes major development constraints, with regard to labour, land and water, and institutions, pinpoints certain positive developments that have taken place in some of the countries and looks at opportunities for the respective countries to improve their food situation. One of its conclusions is that more attention should be paid to country specific constraints and opportunities.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to characterize the variability and statistical distribution of electromagnetic induction measurements for salinity assessment on irrigated land. Such information is needed to optimize future sampling schemes. A detailed salinity survey was carried out with an electromagnetic device (Geonics EM38) in a representative experimental area of 37 ha near Faisalabad, Pakistan. The apparent electrical conductivity of the soil was measured at >3400 locations. In addition, a visual agronomic salinity survey was conducted. A linear relation between the standard deviation of the data and their means indicated that the salinity data were log‐normally distributed. Therefore, we recommend using log‐transformed data for statistical inferences. Geostatistical analysis of the log‐transformed data verified that the salinity of a field was principally determined by the irrigation management of the farmer. Significant salinity differences were found between abandoned, fallow, and cropped fields, but not between fields with different crops. We found that the electromagnetic induction meter (EM38) was in good agreement with the visual agronomic survey. The EM38 was superior because it had a better resolution, was more sensitive to salinity changes with depth and spatially, and could be conducted with or without a crop or at any stage of a crop. For random sampling schemes in our experimental area, the budgetary efficiency of the survey improved when entire fields rather than single points were selected for the survey. For salinity sampling with a stratified random sampling scheme, the strata can be based either on land use or on visually observed salinity status.

In a cross-sectional survey health complaints among 418 laborers in 15 Indian tanneries were studied. Low-back pain (61%), asthma (38%), dermatitis (23%), and chronic bronchitis (14%) were the most frequently reported complaints in the 12 months prior to the survey. In general, beamhouse workers reported the highest prevalence but only chronic low-back pain was significantly elevated compared with workers in the finishing departments. When using individual exposure estimates, clear associations were presented among manual lifting over 20 kg and low-back pain (OR = 3.5) and skin exposure and dermatitis (OR = 2.6). Frequent lifting of loads was also associated with self-reported asthma. About 44% of the laborers reported at least one period of sickness absence, and 17% were involved in a serious occupational accident that required a visit to the local physician. Logistic regression analysis showed that sickness absence occurred more often in small tanneries (OR = 2.7) and also was significantly associated with low-back pain (OR = 3.3) and occupational accidents (OR = 2.2). This epidemiologic survey on health complaints in tannery workers is among the few in occupational populations in low-income countries. For many reasons these populations are easily overlooked. The results of this descriptive study indicate that there is a clear need for epidemiologic surveys in these countries to obtain information on working conditions and associated health problems.

Purpose Although common mental disorders (CMDs) highly impact individuals and society, a knowledge gap exists on how sickness absence can be prevented in workers with CMDs. This study explores: (1) workers' perceived causes of sickness absence; (2) perceived return to work (RTW) barriers and facilitators; and (3) differences between workers with short, medium and long-term sickness absence. Methods A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted involving 34 workers with CMDs. Semi-structured interviews were held at two time-points during their RTW process. The 68 interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and thematically analyzed to explore workers' perspective on sickness absence causes, RTW barriers and facilitators, and compare data across the three sub-groups of workers. Results Workers reported various causes for their absence, including: (1) high work pressure; (2) poor work relationships; (3) unhelpful thoughts and feelings, e.g. lacking self-insight; and (4) ineffective coping behaviors. According to workers, RTW was facilitated by work adjustments, fulfilling relationships with supervisors, and adequate occupational health guidance. Workers with short-term leave more often reported favorable work conditions, and proactive coping behavior. In contrast, the long-term group reported reactive coping behavior and dissatisfaction with their work. Conclusion Supporting workers with CMDs in gaining self-awareness and regaining control, discussing the value of their work, and creating work conditions that enable workers to do valuable work, seem central for successful RTW and might prevent sickness absence. Supervisors play a key role in enabling workers to do valuable work and further research should focus on how supervisors can be supported in this task.

Only 2.1% of the ocean is in actively managed marine protected areas (MPAs). Achieving the United Nations' target of 10% of the ocean protected by 2020 will require an aggressively implemented mix of large MPAs in remote areas, and small MPAs in inhabited coastal areas. Replication of small no-take MPAs (marine reserves) in coastal areas at the global scale is more likely to occur if reserves are designed as investment opportunities – ‘fish banks’ that produce new profits based on ecosystem services such as tourism and fish production. Here a pro forma business plan for a marine reserve using private investment and local management is presented. Total annual profit before the reserve was €254,000 (from fishing only); in year 8 after creation of the reserve, profit (fishing+tourism) was €3.3 million. Given the right conditions, the net present value of the reserve can be between 4 and 12 times greater than the no-reserve counterfactual. In our model, (1) the tourism sector covers the costs of creation and operation of the reserve as an investment in a profitable business; and (2) fishers become shareholders and receive income from tourist access fees; their profits increase as soon as one year after the creation of the reserve. A series of financing mechanisms to create and manage fish banks is also proposed. If designed properly, fish banks can help restore marine biodiversity and ecosystem services, and can create jobs, help fishers, and bring in significantly greater economic profits than the absence of protection.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to debates on the value of indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction. Recent international policy papers advocate the importance of indigenous knowledge and calls for its recognition. The paper aims to explore these issues in the everyday practices of disaster response by indigenous peoples and surrounding actors. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a total of seven months ethnographic research in indigenous communities in Thailand and the Philippines. The Thai communities had experienced minor disasters, whereas the Philippine communities were recently hit by a major killer typhoon. Findings – In both countries the authors found that indigenous knowledge is neither completely local, nor homogenous, nor shared. The findings caution against a view that indigenous knowledge is grounded in a long tradition of coping with disasters. Coping is embedded in social practice and responsive to change. Positive labelling of indigenous practices can help to render communities more resilient. Research limitations/implications – The research was exploratory in nature and could be replicated and expanded in other indigenous peoples’ communities. Practical implications – Rather than understanding indigenous peoples as simultaneously vulnerable and resilient, it calls for a more comprehensive approach to indigenous knowledge and practices around disaster. Social implications – The limitations are shown of uncritically ascribing indigenous communities a close relation to nature. It may be unfounded and de-politicises indigenous struggles. Originality/value – This paper approaches indigenous knowledge issues from the point of view of indigenous communities themselves.

Purpose ¿ The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the relationship between creativity and planning perspectives. Design/methodology/approach ¿ Creativity is considered to be the source of new and competitive ideas through which an organization positions itself in its environment. A distinction is made between means-end planning and emerging alternative approaches to planning. It is argued that in means-end planning schemes creativity is predominantly a problem solving activity seeking to find an ideal mix of instruments to meet a clearly stated goal. Findings ¿ Demonstrates that creativity can be much more if other perspectives on planning are accepted. A broadened concept of creativity is presented, pointing to strategic devices that promote and facilitate creativity in an organization. Originality/value ¿ Is of value by stressing that ¿being creative¿ should be a part of an organization's everyday experiences, a component of normal meetings, and a reality for all members of an organization.

Regional organisations in Africa have not managed to form coherent coalitions while negotiating about Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU). Either the membership of EPA groups is not congruent with the membership of existing regional organisations, or crucial member states refuse to sign the EPAs and put their regions’ unity at risk. We argue that these problems are due to the differentiated trade rules of the EU, which privilege some trade partners and some commodity exports over others. Large African countries, which enjoy privileged access to the European market, do not have incentives to implement the unpopular EPAs, which are based on reciprocal trade liberalisation. As a result, they obstruct the negotiation process or refuse to implement the EPAs. This mechanism is illustrated at the examples of the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Although the literature covers the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), well-being, and Global Public Goods (GPGs) extensively, there is very little work on connecting these with Southern concepts in order to make the underlying inspiration for policy processes truly inclusive. Hence, this paper focuses on how such links can be made. It argues in favor of linking the Ubuntu – ‘I am because we are’ – to modern ideas of well-being and African communitarian philosophy to GPGs. These two concepts of human well-being and the need to govern GPGs are intrinsically linked to the MDGs post 2015 and could help to make the MDGs truly inclusive.

BACKGROUND: Magical charm plants to ensure good luck in hunting, fishing, agriculture, love and warfare are known among many Amerindians groups in the Guianas. Documented by anthropologists as social and political markers and exchangeable commodities, these charms have received little attention by ethnobotanists, as they are surrounded by secrecy and are difficult to identify. We compared the use of charm species among indigenous groups in the Guianas to see whether similarity in charm species was related to geographical or cultural proximity. We hypothesized that cultivated plants were more widely shared than wild ones and that charms with underground bulbs were more widely used than those without such organs, as vegetatively propagated plants would facilitate transfer of charm knowledge. METHODS: We compiled a list of charm plants from recent fieldwork and supplemented these with information from herbarium collections, historic and recent literature among 11 ethnic groups in the Guianas. To assess similarity in plant use among these groups, we performed a Detrended Component Analysis (DCA) on species level. To see whether cultivated plants or vegetatively propagated species were more widely shared among ethnic groups than wild species or plants without rhizomes, tubers or stem-rooting capacity, we used an independent sample t-test. RESULTS: We recorded 366 charms, representing 145 species. The majority were hunting charms, wild plants, propagated via underground bulbs and grown in villages. Our data suggest that similarity in charm species is associated with geographical proximity and not cultural relatedness. The most widely shared species, used by all Amerindian groups, is Caladium bicolor. The tubers of this plant facilitate easy transport and its natural variability allows for associations with a diversity of game animals. Human selection on shape, size and color of plants through clonal reproduction has ensured the continuity of morphological traits and their correlation with animal features. CONCLUSIONS: Charm plants serve as vehicles for traditional knowledge on animal behavior, tribal warfare and other aspects of oral history and should therefore deserve more scientific and societal attention, especially because there are indications that traditional knowledge on charms is disappearing.

Floods and droughts take a staggering toll both in human suffering and in economic costs. A new approach thus is urgently needed to manage the large and growing risks associated with extreme hydro-climatic events. This report offers that new approach. It sets out a vision of how national governments can deal with these challenges through innovative governance, offering a comprehensive path towards a safer, more prosperous future for the world’s 7.7 billion people. This report focuses primarily on the last principle - a joined-up government. This report presents a new framework for creating a more effective system of managing hydro-climatic risks, a system that has the potential to dramatically reduce the future human and economic toll from these events. This report is intended to bring awareness of this enormous challenge and the potential solutions to a broad audience, as well as offering a practical and detailed guide to help governments improve their flood and drought management systems.

This study presents a quasi-experimental analysis of the impact of FairTrade certification on the commercial performance of coffee farmers in Tanzania. In doing so the study emphasises the importance of a well-contextualised theory of change as a basis for evaluation design. It also stresses the value of qualitative methods to control for selection bias. Based on a longitudinal (pseudo-panel) dataset comprising both certified and conventional farmers, it shows that FairTrade certification introduced a disincentive to farmers’ commercialisation. We explain this counterintuitive conclusion on the basis of the ‘cooperative life cycle’ theory developed by US agribusiness scholars.

Valuing water is gaining popularity among policymakers and academics as a new water management paradigm. However, there is a lack of clarity about how to translate this paradigm into practice. We propose a multifaceted approach to valuing water that considers not just the values that people assign to water, such as its uses and benefits, but also broader personal guiding principles (e.g., security) and governance-related values (e.g., social justice) that underpin decision-making about water. Using an interdisciplinary conceptual framework and data from a global survey among water professionals (N = 293), we provide the first empirical evidence showing how preferences among three archetypical perspectives on water management – (1) controlling water flows through engineering solutions; (2) managing water through market-based mechanisms; (3) working with natural water ecosystems – can be explained by different types of values held by respondents, despite the enormous diversity among water management contexts around the world. The valuing water paradigm thus has an expressly political dimension to it; applying it makes explicit how water management decisions are informed by and may reinforce some values and weaken others. As such, it can be a useful diagnostic in the context of water conflicts, to help understand how decisions about water are linked to different stakeholder groups’ values. Valuing water may thus involve balancing conceptually contrasting values and preferences. It also requires the development and application of mechanisms and institutions for effective stakeholder participation in decision-making, especially in the context of significant power differentials between relevant stakeholders.

In recent years, there have been substantial efforts to combat corporate tax avoidance. These efforts have been propelled in part by mediatized case studies, conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups, on the tax avoidance practices of multinational enterprises. These case studies have been criticized because they allegedly lack quality, but this criticism has not been assessed academically. This research seeks to address that gap. It proposes a new methodology to analyze the quality of these case studies systematically. We construct ten indicators related to alleged weaknesses and use these to assess 14 case studies involving Dutch corporate entities. We find that the quality of these case studies is affected negatively by a lack of adequate data. Thus, if companies and governments enhance transparency, this could increase the quality of case studies by NGOs and other groups. In addition to this, we find that the NGOs and other groups themselves can sometimes increase the quality of their case studies by investing in technical expertise and adopting practices that foster objectivity. The methodology developed for this study could also be of use for other topical debates, such as disclosure requirements and corporate social responsibility reporting. Whereas we were able to address challenges related to internal validity, the external validity of the findings could still be improved by extending the selection of case studies.

Many countries have implemented economic diplomacy policies in an effort to support their firms in the internationalisation process. The channels through which these programs affect trade, the intensive margin or the extensive margin, were until now unknown. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a qualitative and quantitative literature review on the effect of economic diplomacy on the margins of trade. Allowing for different effects between the OECD countries and non-OECD Latin American countries the review shows that economic diplomacy is effective for increasing the extensive margin of trade. Economic diplomacy may thus serve as a successful instrument to diversify exports. Findings for the intensive margin are more ambiguous. In general, economic diplomacy does not seem to influence the intensive margin of trade significantly. Investigating regional effects however reveals that this result is mainly driven by the large number of insignificant observations for the non-OECD Latin American countries.

Much has already been written about the effects of the changes of the Cold War on conflict. The ongoing disengagement of East and West from bipolar Cold-War politics has resulted in an unstable intern

From around 2000 onwards, donors and recipient governments embarked upon a new aid paradigm. The most important elements include increased selectivity in the aid allocation, more ownership of recipient countries based on nationally elaborated Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), and more donor alignment and harmonization via programme-based approaches such as budget support. The paper assesses the theoretical merits of this new paradigm, identifying some contradictions and limitations, and then examines its implementation over the past decade and its results. The empirical literature largely confirms the earlier identified weaknesses and limitations. The paper concludes with some suggestions for improving aid practices.

Since 2005, the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability tool has been widely used in developing countries and emerging economies to evaluate the performance of public financial management systems. In this article, we assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability instrument tool for evaluating public financial accountability. We examine the theoretical literature on public accountability in order to derive a suitable normative framework to assess the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability tool. However, given that this literature is based on experiences in developed countries, we must extend it to also take into account the political cultures and practices in developing countries. Using this extended framework, we assess the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability indicators related to, in particular, parliamentary committees for financial oversight and Supreme Audit Institutions. We conclude that the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability tool could devote more attention to the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions, the nature of accountability debates, democratic inclusion and horizontal accountability mechanisms Points for practitioners The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability tool has been applied in more than 116 countries and its reports offer valuable information for practitioners and researchers around the world. It is the only publicly available data set that measures the performance of financial committees of parliament and Supreme Audit Institutions. The strengths and weaknesses revealed in this article should be taken into account when using the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability tool for research or for evaluating the quality of financial accountability systems in particular countries. The international financial institutions and donor agencies governing the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Secretariat can use the recommendations of this article to further improve the framework.

Book Review| November 01 1983 China's Island Frontier: Studies in the Historical Geography of Taiwan China's Island Frontier: Studies in the Historical Geography of Taiwan. Edited by Ronald G. Knapp. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii and the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, 1980. xv, 296 pp. Maps, Illustrations, Glossary, Indexes. $20. Johannes Huber Johannes Huber Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Asian Studies (1983) 43 (1): 134–135. https://doi.org/10.2307/2054623 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Johannes Huber; China's Island Frontier: Studies in the Historical Geography of Taiwan. Journal of Asian Studies 1 November 1983; 43 (1): 134–135. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2054623 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsJournal of Asian Studies Search Advanced Search Copyright © Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 19831983 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.