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Localisation of humanitarian aid has emerged as a major issue after the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 which emphasised the importance of locally-led response as a corrective to power imbalances in the humanitarian system. However, the practical complexities of localised humanitarian aid are yet to be fully discussed. This paper aims to examine the concept of localisation in humanitarian aid through a case study of a local non-governmental organisation, the Cambodian Children's Trust (CCT), in Cambodia. Drawing on the framework of localisation proposed by Baguios et al., (2021), we analyse the application of localisation of child protection programs run by CCT. We provide a holistic understanding of how localisation is conducted in practice, and the impacts it has on the wider humanitarian sector. Our study illustrates that power can be effectively developed to local entities and localisation with empowerment could be achieved despite highly challenging conditions.

Points out that sustainability as such does not provide a clearcut guide to policy. First one has to decide what is to be sustained. If this is agreed, it must be in an operational from. However, difficulties may still emerge since opinions may differ about how to achieve. This is illustrated by differences in the views of economists about how sustainable development is to be achieved. Orthodox economists stress the importance of the accumulation of man-made capital to achieve this end whereas neo-Malthusians stress the importance of conserving natural resource and environmental capital. Both take an anthropocentric point of view. For political reasons the neo-Malthusian has had little support but it may eventually turn out to be correct. Economics is concerned with reducing economic scarcity and economists have traditionally suggested four main ways of doing this of which economic growth is one. However, neo-Malthusian economists believe that this may not be a sustainable strategy – it may result in future poverty. It should be noted that economic systems are embedded in social and natural systems and depend on these. Economic sustainability depends on the sustainability of these other systems. So from this point of view, it is just one of several bottom lines. Values must be considered in relation to sustainability. Economics is completely anthropocentric in its approach. Therefore, economic approaches to conservation and sustainability can be at odds with the values of deep ecologists or those willing to accord rights to other sentient beings or ecosystems independent of human wishes, or those who want to make use of value judgments other than those based on the measuring rod of money. Consequently economics evaluation is sometimes ineffective in resolving social conflict, including conflict about what should be sustained. As a rule economics alone should not be the final arbiter of social decisions. It is a part (often an important part) of the social evaluation process but not the bottom line, or just one of many lines.

Greta Thunberg has called on politicians to “listen to the science” and take climate change seriously. But climate communication strategies can be more effective when “listening to the science” is complemented with “listening to society”.

Renewed COVID-19 outbreaks and uneven vaccination progress are prolonging the fight against the disease in developing Asia. This is contributing to a divergence in growth paths in the region that is partly being determined by the progress on tackling COVID-19. Asian Development Outlook 2021 Update raises regional growth forecasts for East Asia and Central Asia, and revises them down for South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The main risks to the region’s economic prospects still center on the pandemic, particularly the emergence of new variants, lagging vaccine rollouts, and waning vaccine effectiveness. As economies recover from the pandemic, the threats of climate change will take center stage again. Sustainable food production and agricultural systems that are resilient to climate change will be crucial for developing Asia. To transform agriculture in the region, its economies must tackle challenges from changing consumer demand, changing demographics, and a changing and more fragile environment.

This publication is an initiative of the Government of Papua New Guinea that provides step-by-step guidance on how to rehabilitate mangroves. It aims to help address the impacts of climate change, particularly the coastal flooding prevalent in Papua New Guinea. It is a resource for the planting of mangroves for diverse purposes, including carbon absorption, nature conservation, support for fisheries, and ecotourism.

Oligotrophic catchments with short spatey streams, upland lakes and peaty soils characterise northwest European Atlantic coastal regions. These catchments are important biodiversity refuges, particularly for sensitive diadromous fish populations but are subject to changes in land use and land management practices associated with afforestation, agriculture and rural development. Quantification of the degree of catchment degradation resulting from such anthropogenic impacts is often limited by a lack of long-term baseline data in what are generally relatively isolated, poorly studied catchments. This research uses a combination of palaeolimnological (radiometrically-dated variations in sedimentary geochemical elements, pollen, diatoms and remains of cladocera), census, and instrumental data, along with hindcast estimates to quantify environmental changes and their aquatic impacts since the late 19th century. The most likely drivers of any change are also identified. Results confirm an aquatic biotic response (phyto- and zooplankton) to soil erosion and nutrient enrichment associated with the onset of commercial conifer afforestation, effects that were subsequently enhanced as a result of increased overgrazing in the catchment and, possibly, climate warming. The implications for the health of aquatic resources in the catchment are discussed Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland (ILLUMINATE 2005-W-MS-40, P.McGinnity was supported by the Beaufort Marine Research Award in Fish Population Genetics funded by the Irish Government under the Sea Change Programme.

Taking Control of Oil provides a comprehensive assessment of recent global oil price trends, the exposure of PDMCs to oil price increases and its implications for social and economic development in the region. It also offers a number of policy options for managing risks associated with heavy dependence on oil imports and proposes a path for diversifying the energy mix in PDMCs.

here are increasing interests in using natural pozzolans as partial replacements for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in concrete due to the benefit to the environment, low-carbon footprint, and durability improvement potentials. In the present research, open-air-burnt non-grinded rice husk ash (RHA) samples from Ganawuri-Plateau State, Nigeria, were used as a partial replacement for OPC in concrete. A water-permeable form (controlled permeability formwork – CPF) was utilized to counter the adverse effects of high-water demand. The combined effects of CPF and RHA on the cover-zone microstructure/porosity were analysed by the mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) test. Water sorptivity and sulphuric acid resistance properties were measured by Surface Water Absorption Test (SWAT) and accelerated sulphuric acid resistance test, respectively, to study the suitability of the concrete mixtures for sewerage concrete structures. Compared to Portland cement concrete, the RHA with CPF samples had relatively low permeability and low water sorptivity while the RHA without CPF samples showed the highest resistance to sulphuric acid attack, exhibiting no weight loss, no gypsum formation at the surface with the least surface discolouration. here are increasing interests in using natural pozzolans as partial replacements for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in concrete due to the benefit to the environment, low-carbon footprint, and durability improvement potentials. In the present research, open-air-burnt non-grinded rice husk ash (RHA) samples from Ganawuri-Plateau State, Nigeria, were used as a partial replacement for OPC in concrete. A water-permeable form (controlled permeability formwork – CPF) was utilized to counter the adverse effects of high-water demand. The combined effects of CPF and RHA on the cover-zone microstructure/porosity were analysed by the mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) test. Water sorptivity and sulphuric acid resistance properties were measured by Surface Water Absorption Test (SWAT) and accelerated sulphuric acid resistance test, respectively, to study the suitability of the concrete mixtures for sewerage concrete structures. Compared to Portland cement concrete, the RHA with CPF samples had relatively low permeability and low water sorptivity while the RHA without CPF samples showed the highest resistance to sulphuric acid attack, exhibiting no weight loss, no gypsum formation at the surface with the least surface discolouration.

[Extract] The Fukushima nuclear disaster demonstrated the magnitude of devastation when energy security is prioritized over human security. No doubt, the task of balancing the two needs is immense and difficult trade-offs need to be made at different times. But policy decisions in these two domains cannot be made without adequate consultation with the public, consideration for their preferences, and a shared vision for the future.

Trends within Northern Hemisphere surface waters indicate that natural organic matter (NOM) concentrations are rising not only due to historical, acid-deposition based influence, but more recently due to climate change. The accumulation of NOM in reservoirs is detrimental to potable water supply and erodes the success and capacity of existing treatment infrastructure. In recent years, the Australian East Coast has experienced a rapid succession of high temperatures, rainfall deficiencies, drought, fire, intense rainfall, and flooding. Such events have the ability to convey changes to the way NOM is fluxed to aquatic systems and how NOM is cycled and stored within reservoirs. The aim of this thesis was to assess the role of climatic variation on the susceptibility for reservoirs in Greater Sydney to accumulate NOM. An assessment of the historical record of all six major surface water storage reservoirs in Greater Sydney using a combined hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis technique, has indicated for the first time that these systems are browning from accumulating DOC. Subsequent determinations of changepoints in this historical record combined with extensive temporal cross examination of climatological drivers, deduced browning was influenced by intensive precipitation events which translated to intense and rapid reservoir recharge. A comprehensive assessment of the physical and chemical properties of NOM within the Nepean catchment (Sydney, Australia, n = 656) by fluorescence spectroscopy and liquid-chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), deduced only minor NOM compositional change occurred across drought and intensive rainfall events. A similar assessment of the fire impacted Warragamba catchment (Sydney, Australia) concluded that fire impacted particulate organic matter held significant quantities of leachable dissolved organic matter. Overall, it was concluded that climate driven increases in precipitation intensity will drive an increased frequency and observance of browner reservoir systems due to higher NOM concentrations, but this will not equate to large compositional shifts in the underlying physical and chemical properties of NOM within a catchment system.