Month: August 2024

Abstract

The Himalayas, globally acknowledged as one of the four biodiversity hotspots, underscore their ecological significance, boasting abundant flora and fauna. Among these, a diverse array of wild fruits such as Aegle marmelos, Artocarpus lakoocha, Baccaurea spp., Carissa spp., and others provide essential nutrition for local populations. These fruits, rich in bioactive compounds, offer nutraceutical potential, contributing to health aspects like antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The integration of Himalayan wild fruits into circular practices supports sustainable livelihoods. The responsible harvesting, efficient processing, and value addition of these fruits align with circular principles, striking a balance between conservation and progress. Technologies such as anaerobic digestion, waste-to-energy conversion, and composting can harness waste generated during cultivation and processing, contributing to a circular economy and rural Himalayan community development. Preserving, accessing, and commercializing underutilized fruits can significantly enhance economic prosperity and the quality of life for inhabitants. However, integrating these fruits into agriculture faces multifaceted challenges, spanning social, economic, environmental, agronomic, and political dimensions. Addressing these challenges is crucial for sustainable development, aiming to eradicate poverty, malnutrition, and hidden hunger. Moreover, addressing these challenges is not only vital for sustainable development in the Himalayan region but also for mitigating carbon footprints and tackling issues like poverty, malnutrition, hidden hunger, and climate change. The exploration of these concepts within the Himalayan context holds immense promise for sustainable development and ecological conservation.

Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Colonial cities in Asia and Africa, developed under the dual influence of native and sovereign cultures during the colonial era, exhibit unique urban morphological characteristics and reflect the planning ideologies of diverse cultures. Thus, the morphological study of colonial cities in Asia and Africa is crucial for understanding and identifying the historical and cultural value of these cities, which in turn enables the formulation of precise conservation strategies. In light of this, the study develops an urban morphological analysis methodology comprising "Colonial Background Analysis—Morphological Characteristics Analysis—Driving Factor Extraction" based on the Conzenian Approach, which is used to examine the morphology of 21 typical colonial cities in Asia and Africa across various colonial periods. As a result, "Dual-City" emerges as the core spatial characteristic of colonial cities in Asia and Africa, reflecting the morphological differences in road layouts, urban fabric, and urban cores between native and European zones. Additionally, as native settlement sizes, social structures, and cultural identities differ between cities, three major spatial patterns of the "Dual-City" model can be identified: separated, mediated, and integrated spatial patterns, resulting from the varied planning approaches applied by colonizers. Furthermore, suggestions for the conservation of colonial heritage are proposed based on the driving factors analysis from the morphological study.

Abstract

Background

Large-scale renewable energy projects are increasingly being rolled out across rural Kenya, with the government playing a frontline role in attracting energy investors through various state-led and state-centric policies and investment incentives such as feed-in-tariffs and power purchase agreements. While these policies are commendable, and are indeed attracting many private investors, existing studies document how social and environmental justice concerns are often overlooked—sometimes causing local contestations against energy projects. However, to date, there has been less attention given to cases where procedural justice elements (e.g., access to information, access to meaningful participation, access to justice, and respect for local culture) led to a successful land negotiation for energy development without outright conflict. Using a case study in Kenya, this article aims to bridge this gap by showing how a fair application of various elements of procedural justice in land consultation has facilitated the establishment of the Kipeto wind farm. This qualitative research is based on semi-structured interviews that took place from February to March 2023, with a follow-up visit in December the same year, supplemented with review of secondary data sources.

Results

The results indicate that for energy projects to be accommodated in and by communities, access to land must be properly negotiated, particularly with the actual landowners whose livelihoods are most likely to be implicated by the project. Second, local people’s perception of what they regard as a ‘just’ or ‘fair’ process of land consultation constitutes the basis for their acquiescence and compliance.

Conclusion

Ensuring a ‘just’ procedure in land consultation with the actual landowners is a key strategy to avoid conflicts. Land investors, governments, and policy-makers who interface and negotiate with communities must ensure the provision of procedural justice, particularly in contexts where local livelihood is tied to land and where land is individually owned. Although the findings suggest a positive case of wind energy development in Kenya, the project is barely 4 years old; things may change overtime if agreed conditions are not met as specified in the MoU. Therefore, additional follow-up research is needed to ascertain the extent to which both KEL and landowners live up to their promises.

Abstract

Background

Bartonella quintana is a body louse-borne bacterium causing bacteremia and infective endocarditis. We aimed to describe B. quintana detection among arthropods and their hosts.

Methods

We searched databases in PubMed Central/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science from January 1, 1915 (the year of B. quintana discovery) to January 1, 2024, to identify publications containing specific search terms relating to B. quintana detection among arthropods. Descriptive statistics and meta-analysis of pooled prevalence using random-effects models were performed for all arthropods and body and head lice.

Results

Of 1265 records, 62 articles were included, describing 8839 body lice, 4962 head lice, and 1692 other arthropods, such as different species of fleas, bedbugs, mites, and ticks. Arthropods were collected from 37 countries, of which 28 had arthropods with B. quintana DNA. Among articles that reported B. quintana detection among individual arthropods, 1445 of 14,088 (0.1026, 95% CI [0.0976; 0.1077]) arthropods tested positive for B. quintana DNA, generating a random-effects model global prevalence of 0.0666 (95% CI [0.0426; 0.1026]). Fifty-six studies tested 8839 body lice, of which 1679 had B. quintana DNA (0.1899, 95% CI [0.1818; 0.1983]), generating a random-effects model pooled prevalence of 0.2312 (95% CI [0.1784; 0.2843]). Forty-two studies tested 4962 head lice, of which 390 head lice from 20 studies originating from 11 different countries had B. quintana DNA (0.0786, 95% CI [0.0713; 0.0864]). Eight studies detected B. quintana DNA exclusively on head lice. Five studies reported greater B. quintana detection on head lice than body lice; all originated from low-resource environments.

Conclusions

Bartonella quintana is a vector-borne bacterium with a global distribution, disproportionately affecting marginalized populations. Bartonella quintana DNA has been detected in many different arthropod species, though not all of these arthropods meet criteria to be considered vectors for B. quintana transmission. Body lice have long been known to transmit B. quintana. A limited number of studies suggest that head lice may also act as possible vectors for B. quintana in specific low-resource contexts.

Graphical Abstract