Desde a regulamentação dos procedimentos de avaliação de impacto ambiental (AIA), em meados dos anos oitenta, numerosos projetos de mineração foram avaliados, aprovados e licenciados no Estado de São Paulo, consumindo grande parte dos escassos recursos humanos e materiais disponíveis para análise técnica de estudos ambientais. Pouco se sabe, no entanto, sobre os resultados efetivamente alcançados com a aplicação do novo instrumento de gestão ambiental. Esta pesquisa teve como propósito geral avaliar a eficácia da aplicação dos procedimentos de AIA aos projetos de mineração no Estado de São Paulo. O foco principal da análise foi a etapa de acompanhamento, ou mais precisamente, a atuação dos órgãos governamentais no sentido de garantir a correta implementação do projeto, bem como do programa de gerenciamento ambiental definido no processo de AIA como condicionante à outorga da licença. Analisaram-se em profundidade seis casos escolhidos entre os estudos de impacto ambiental aprovados no Estado no período compreendido entre os anos de 1987 e 1997. Em cada caso estudado, examinaram-se todos os documentos e registros administrativos disponíveis nos principais órgãos de governo que participam do processo de AIA. Esta tarefa objetivou principalmente (1) obter dados sobre cada projeto; (2) pesquisar todas as medidas mitigadoras e outras medidas de gerenciamento ambiental propostas e incorporadas aos termos e condições de aprovação do projeto; e (3) verificar as ações de controle executadas após a aprovação do projeto. Complementarmente, visitaram-se as minas para observação das condições de implementação dos projetos e das medidas de gerenciamento ambiental. Os resultados do estudo confirmaram largamente suas hipóteses iniciais de que a implementação dos projetos é falha e compromete severamente o processo. Concluiu-se, ainda, que esta situação decorre não somente das deficiências dos órgãos fiscalizadores, incapazes de garantir o cumprimento dos termos e condições estabelecidos na aprovação do estudo de impacto ambiental, mas de uma cadeia de imperfeições que atinge praticamente todas as atividades do processo de AIA. Para superar as deficiências da etapa de acompanhamento, propõem-se, portanto, intervenções nas várias etapas do processo, que deve ser aprimorado e fortalecido, sob pena de transformar-se um poderoso instrumento de gestão como a avaliação de impacto ambiental em apenas mais um obstáculo em meio às já enormes dificuldades burocráticas impostas para a regularização de empreendimentos de mineração. / Since procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA) were regulated in Brazil, in the mid eighties, numerous mining projects have been assessed, approved and granted environmental permits in the State of São Paulo, draining a great part of the scarce human and material resources available for reviewing environmental studies. Notwithstanding, there are few data concerning the actual results achieved by this new environmental management tool. This research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the EIA procedures applied to mining projects in the State of São Paulo. The analysis focused mainly on the follow-up phase, or more precisely, on the government branches’ performance in enforcing the proper implementation of terms and conditions of project approval. The study examined in full detail six cases selected among the environmental impact studies approved in the State of São Paulo between 1987 and 1997. In each case studied, all the documents and administrative records of relevant government organisms that take part in the EIA process have been reviewed. This task aimed mainly at (1) obtaining data on each project, (2) surveying all mitigation and other management measures proposed and incorporated into the terms and conditions of project approval and (3) checking the control actions performed after project approval. Additionally, site visits were carried out in order to check the implementation of the project and the environmental management measures. The study widely confirmed its initial hypothesis that the implementation of mining projects is actually faulty, severely harming the whole process. The research also showed that this situation is not uniquely due to the weak performance of the surveillance agency, which is not able to enforce the terms and conditions of project approval, but also because of several imperfections that pervade most of the EIA process activities. To overcome the deficiencies in the follow-up phase, changes are proposed in several steps of the process, which should be improved and strengthened. If not, a powerful management tool as the environmental impact assessment is endangered to be transformed in just one more obstacle among the already enormous bureaucratic hindrances imposed to mining projects regularization.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of the North, 2001 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.Sc (Agricultural Economics)) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / Agriculture plays an important role in uplifting the economy of South Africa. Small-scale farmers in rural areas are linked with poverty and operate inefficiently due to over or under utilization of some of the factors of production. This study aimed at analysing the technical and allocative efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality. The objectives of the study were: (i) To assess the level of technical and allocative efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality, (ii) To identify socio-economic factors affecting the efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality and (iii) to investigate the areas of improvement with regard to the operational management of the small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality. The study employed the Cobb-Douglas production function and the logistic regression model to analyse data. The Cobb-Douglas production function results revealed that small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality are technically efficient in the production of maize with the highest mean technical efficiency value of 0.71%. The study further revealed that farmers were allocatively inefficient with a mean allocative efficiency value of 0.39%. The logistic regression analysis revealed important variables such as the level of education (1.05), experience in farming (2.74), access to irrigation water (0.59), purchase of hybrid seed (0.74), access to credit (2.13) and extension visits (0.85) were positively significant towards the efficiency of farmers. Variables such as gender of the farmer (-1.79) and off-farm income (-2.72) were found to be negatively significant towards the efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen Municipality. The findings obtained in this study could be quite useful to policy makers. This study recommend that there is a need for more visits from the extension officers as well as training on inputs allocation, since variables like Seed (0.41), fertilizer (0.17), capital (0.71) and expenses (-0.204) were found to be inefficiently allocated in the production of maize. The provision of easy, quick and adequate credit deserves to be a top priority on the agenda of policy makers since most small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality does not receive off-farm income. Small-scale farmers in Tzaneen municipality also need to have access to enough arable land in order to increase production. Small-scale farmers in South Africa and other developing countries contribute to employment creation and food security in the households, therefore, it is important that government fully support such farmers.

The lack of timely reporting of commercial fisheries landings interferes with effective management of fisheries in United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Federal law requires that landings be limited to prevent annual catch limits (ACLs) from being exceeded. Previous attempts to predict total landings have used historic data from prior fishing seasons to predict future landings rather than leveraging available in-season data to provide a more real-time prediction of landings. This study presents an in-season model that predicts total landings using partial reports from the current fishing year. This estimate of total landings, including error bounds around that estimate, can then be compared to the ACL established for the species to estimate potential deviations from the allowable landings and adjust effort accordingly. The performance of the model was tested in a retrospective analysis on historical commercial landings data. Differences between predicted and observed fishing year landings by defined cut-off dates were used to identify reasonable deadlines for fishery managers to begin making reliable predictions on total annual landings. On average, predictions can be made with less than 9% error with at least four months of partial data, and with less than 5% error with at least seven months of partial data. This model's in-season predictions should be useful to managers to prevent ACL overages, and to guide fishers in their application of effort within and among components of the fishery, for example, to shift effort from one fishery management unit to another in response to excessive landings.

This policy brief aims to propose options to narrow the wood supply and demand gap through a critical scenario analysis at the national level, complemented with wood value chain analysis that reflects the on-the-ground realities. Limited access to credit services, complicated bureaucratic processes, insecure land tenure, and the dominant influence of government forestry enterprises in the wood value chain are among the key constraints to augmenting the national wood supply. The government needs to remove some of the complicated bureaucratic land acquisition processes to ensure tenure security for private investors, small- and medium-sized wood producers. Wood import substitution with locally produced wood products can reduce government spending, while promoting local industrialization, innovation, and job creation. Cross-sectoral collaboration among government departments and the need to extend the participation of small- and medium-scale wood producers beyond wood production to wood processing and marketing activities is crucial to upscale the wood supply. This policy brief is intended for forest and natural-resource policymakers, wood industrial sector, non-governmental organizations, and academia dealing with the forestry and wood sector in Ethiopia.:Key Messages: Page 1 Introduction: Page 2 Project methods: Page 2 National wood product supply scenarios: Page 3 Wood value chain: Page 4 Policy implications and recommendations: Page 5 Contact: Page 6

<p>The purpose of this study is to understand what impact courses in sustainable agriculture have had on small-scale farming women in Zambia, who have started using alternative techniques in their farming. Weather conditions, political issues and other circumstances in Zambia have made it difficult for people to grow enough crops to feed their families and gain extra money alternative methods are being promoted by organisations at all institutional levels, in order for people to survive. At Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre, east of the capital, Lusaka, sustainable methods in farming practices are taught to small-scale farmers. It is a qualitative study, accomplished within the field of Human Geography, and the theoretical frameworks that have been used are political ecology of sustainability, low-external input in sustainable agriculture, and gender and development. The qualitative methods used are in accordance to Rapid Rural Appraisal, where small-scale farming women have been interviewed on a semi-structural basis. Additionally, secondary data in the form of literature has been gathered and direct observations have been made in the field. Results show that the courses in sustainable agriculture have had an impact on the lives of participating small-scale farming women and that they are able to spread their knowledge to neighbouring small-scale farmers. It also shows that politics has a major influence on the daily life of the women.</p>

<p>This thesis interrogates the claim that resource-poor, rural land seekers can acquire land through the land market which constitutes the central mechanism of land redistribution in South Africa&rsquo / s market-based land reform programme. The study explores two key aspects in relation to this claim. Firstly, it provides a critique of the underlying assumptions prevalent in much of the current market-based land reform policy, as advocated by its national and international proponents, and the manner in which the market as a mechanism for land redistribution has been conceptualized and its outcomes envisaged. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this conceptualization - which it is argued, draws on idealized and abstracted notions of land market functioning - is realized and examines the extent to which the espoused outcomes of market-based land reform policy are aligned with or contradicted by the functioning of real markets and the experiences of resource-poor land seeking people in their attempts to engage in the land market with limited state support. The details of the market&rsquo / s operation are analysed, with a distinction made between the operational practice of real markets &ndash / based on direct evidence-based observation <br /> and degrees of policy abstraction and theoretical assumptions regarding how markets should or might operate. The study&rsquo / s methodological framework draws on an agrarian political economy perspective, as used by theorists such as Akram-Lodhi (2007) and Courville (2005), amongst others. This perspective enables a consideration of the various contexts and socially embedded processes involved in land transactions and the extent to which these are shaped and framed by the politics of policy-making. In line with this perspective, the study focuses on the social relations brought to bear on the acquisition of land and the way in which land markets operate. It is suggested that land is not solely viewed as an economic commodity by land-seekers. Furthermore, it was found that markets cannot be understood as neutral institutions in which participants are equal players.</p>

QC 20100618

Conventional end-of-pipe solutions for wastewater treatment have been criticized from a sustainable view-point, in particular regarding recycling of nutrients. The integration of hydroponic cultivation into a wastewater treatment system has been proposed as an ecological alternative, where nutrients can be removed from the wastewater through plant uptake; however, cultivation of plants in a temperate climate, such as Sweden, implies that additional energy is needed during the colder and darker period. Thus, treatment capacity, additional energy usage and potential value of products are important aspects considering the applicability of hydroponic wastewater treatment in Sweden. To enable the investigation of hydroponic wastewater treatment, a pilot plant was constructed in a greenhouse located at Överjärva gård, Solna, Sweden. The pilot plant consisted of several steps, including conventional biological processes, hydroponics, algal treatment and sand filters. The system treated around 0.56-0.85 m3 domestic wastewater from the Överjärva gård area per day. The experimental protocol, performed in an average of twice per week over a period of three years, included analysis and measurements of water quality and physical parameters. In addition, two studies were performed when daily samples were analysed during a period of two-three weeks. Furthermore, the removal of pathogens in the system, and the microbial composition in the first hydroponic tank were investigated. Inflow concentrations were in an average of around 475 mg COD/L, 100 mg Tot-N/L and 12 mg Tot-P/L. The results show that 85-90% of COD was removed in the system. Complete nitrification was achieved in the hydroponic tanks. Denitrification, by means of pre-denitrification, occurred in the first anoxic tank. With a recycle ratio of 2.26, the achieved nitrogen removal in the system was around 72%. Approximately 4% of the removed amount of nitrogen was credited to plant uptake during the active growth period. Phosphorus was removed by adsorption in the anoxic tank and sand filters, natural chemical precipitation in the algal step induced by the high pH, and assimilation in plants, bacteria and algae. The main removal occurred in the algal step. In total, 47% of the amount of phosphorus was removed. Significant recycling of nitrogen and phosphorus through harvested biomass has not been shown. The indicators analysed for pathogen removal showed an achieved effluent quality comparable to, or better than, for conventional secondary treatment. The microbial composition was comparable to other nitrifying biological systems. The most abundant phyla were Betaproteobacteria and Planctomycetes. In Sweden, a hydroponic system is restricted to greenhouse applications, and the necessary amount of additional energy is related to geographic location. In conclusion, hydroponic systems are not recommended too far north, unless products are identified that will justify the increased energy usage. The potential for hydroponic treatment systems in Sweden lies in small decentralized systems where the greenness of the system and the possible products are considered as advantages for the users. / QC 20101014

The purpose of this study is to understand what impact courses in sustainable agriculture have had on small-scale farming women in Zambia, who have started using alternative techniques in their farming. Weather conditions, political issues and other circumstances in Zambia have made it difficult for people to grow enough crops to feed their families and gain extra money alternative methods are being promoted by organisations at all institutional levels, in order for people to survive. At Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre, east of the capital, Lusaka, sustainable methods in farming practices are taught to small-scale farmers. It is a qualitative study, accomplished within the field of Human Geography, and the theoretical frameworks that have been used are political ecology of sustainability, low-external input in sustainable agriculture, and gender and development. The qualitative methods used are in accordance to Rapid Rural Appraisal, where small-scale farming women have been interviewed on a semi-structural basis. Additionally, secondary data in the form of literature has been gathered and direct observations have been made in the field. Results show that the courses in sustainable agriculture have had an impact on the lives of participating small-scale farming women and that they are able to spread their knowledge to neighbouring small-scale farmers. It also shows that politics has a major influence on the daily life of the women.