R4D Cambodia

TARGETS Annual Report 2006-2007

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:04:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2007 24 pp. This report covers the period June 2006 to May 2007. Information on research themes, outputs and knowledge dissemination is provided. Annexes give the Logical Framework, Communications Strategy, Products and Publications, and Risk Assessment Matrix

SEACAP 19-03. Development of Local Resource Based Standards: Powerpoint presentation

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:01:00 GMT

Miscellaneous TRL Ltd 2009 23 pp. The sub-project strategy is to make use of SEACAP outputs to develop improved Cambodian LVRR Standards, Specifications and Related Guidelines. The key outputs are recommendations on LVRR Classification with a suitable set of Geometric Specifications, and a matrix of pavement and surfacing design options. This powerpoint presentation summarises the results.

SEACAP 19-03. Rural Road Standards and Specifications: Classification, Geometric Standards and Pavement Options. Final Project Report.

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:54:00 GMT

Miscellaneous TRL Limited 2009 67 pp. This principal objective of this document is to describe proposed rural road Classification and Geometric Standards that are recommended for formal adoption by the Ministry of Rural Development. It is also includes technical explanations of all the steps in deriving the classification and geometric standards as well as containing a matrix of structural designs for suitable for use with the proposed classification and standards.

A summary of the Rural Road Classification and Geometric Standards is included as an appendix to the document. This is essentially a summary of the classification and geometric standards without any technical details of their derivation. It is aimed at the engineer or planner who simply needs to look-up the values of all the key parameters.

This document focuses on pavement issues and does not deal with structures (bridges and culverts), earthworks, drainage or maintenance issues.

The future for artemisinin in the treatment of malaria

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Chris Whitty, DFID's Head of Research, discusses artemisinin resistance and Colin Hill from a Defra-funded consortium looks at the potential for artemisinin production in the UK, in BBC Radio 4's Material World.

Solutions to rural transport problems in South East Asia

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Road construction approaches developed under the DFID-funded South-East Asia Community Access Programme (SEACAP) are helping to solve problems of rural transport in South-East Asia

Let's go for a walk. Sexual Decision-making among Clients of Female Entertainment Service Workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:02:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2007 Population Services International, Washington DC, USA/Family Health International (FHI) , 62 pp.

HIV-prevention efforts in Cambodia have principally focused on the role of female entertainment workers in transmitting the virus to the general population. This has meant that male clients of entertainment workers have often been overlooked and underserved by HIV-prevention activities and messaging. Data collected from men who frequent entertainment venues, such as beer halls or karaoke bars, reveal that more than half report paying for sex in the last 12 months and around 40% report having three or more commercial partners in that timeframe. Relatively little is known about the decision-making processes of men who purchase commercial sex in Cambodia.

The goals of this study were fourfold:
(1) to explore the sexual decision-making processes of men who regularly patronize high-risk entertainment venues;
(2) to identify key behavior patterns and social inducements that lead high-risk men to frequently have sex with entertainment workers;
(3) to locate decisive junctures in the course of men's socializing when a decision to not seek the services of an entertainment worker could be made; and
(4) to produce a series of personalized archetypes that can be used by programmers to frame behavior change messaging for entertainment establishment based HIV-prevention interventions.

Forty-eight men (age 21-35) who said they had had sex with an entertainment worker within the preceding six months were selected for interview by PSI researchers. Each was scheduled to complete two interviews: a narrative interview covering a typical evening of socializing, and an interview that covered influencers, the dynamics of opting in or out of sex, condom habits, and positive deviants. Twelve men were interviewed one-on-one and 36 participated in small group discussions. Sixteen brothel-based and non-brothel-based entertainment workers, chosen by United Health Network program staff, were also interviewed. Entertainment workers were included in the hope that they could provide insight into men's sex-seeking decision-making processes. Data were collected from February-April 2007.

After the introduction and objectives of the study, and the methods used, Khmer masculinities and group dynamics and sexual decision-making are described and discussed. This is followed by the conclusions of the study and the presentation of 3 archetypes and 3 scenarios.

DF90. Training Course on maintenance of low volume rural roads.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:51:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2009 The objective of the project is the effective transfer of appropriate knowledge on the selection, design, construction and management of Low Volume Rural Roads (LVRRs) to provincial and district engineers operating under the Cambodian National Decentralisation and De-concentration (NCDD) programme. The NCDD is investing in rural access and rural roads and is consequently interested acquiring knowledge relevant to improving the performance of these investments. Training Module 2 was conducted on 25-29 May 2009: Maintenance of low volume rural roads. This is based on the SEACAP 11 training materials. Documents attached are training course details and summary (190-page document), and powerpoint presentations. The presentations are:

-1. Maintenance concepts
-2. Routine maintenance
-3. Maintenance norms
-4. Maintenance planning

DF90. Training course on the design and construction of low volume rural roads.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:30:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2009 The objective of the project is the effective transfer of appropriate knowledge on the selection, design, construction and management of Low Volume Rural Roads (LVRRs) to provincial and district engineers operating under the Cambodian National Decentralisation and De-concentration (NCDD) programme. The NCDD is investing in rural access and rural roads and is consequently interested acquiring knowledge relevant to improving the performance of these investments. Training Module 1 was conducted from 4th to 7th May 2009: LVRR paving and surfacing training. This is a 4 day course based on the materials developed for DF 55 in Vietnam, but amended and upgraded to suit Cambodian rural infrastructure needs and environments. Documents attached are course details and summary, and presentations for the course. The presentations are:

- 1: LVRR Principles
- 2: Surfacing and Paving Options
- 3: Pavement Option Selection and Design
- 4: LVRR Pavement Construction
- 5: Environmentally Optimized Design
- 6: Desk Exercise.

DF90: Dissemination of Low Volume Rural Road (LVRR) Knowledge and Experience to Cambodia. Training Guide.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:19:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2009 18 pp. The primary objective of this project is to improve the sustainability of the Low Volume Rural Roads (LVRR) developed through the Cambodian National Decentralisation and De-concentration (NCDD) program. It will transfer knowledge developed through SEACAP in the areas of LVRR paving and surfacing technology and maintenance to the technical staff of the NCDD. As part of this programme, two training courses were carried out in May 2009. One course is on LVRR paving and surfacing (DF55). The other course is on LVRR maintenance (SEACAP 11). This powerpoint presentation is a guide to running the courses. The presentations which make up the two courses are given in two separate DF90 output records.

SEACAP 19. Development of Local Resource Based Standards. Completion Report.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:15:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2009 68 pp. SEACAP 19 has contributed to the overall SEACAP theme by continuing the development and mainstreaming of local resource-based standards for rural roads by carrying forward research into cost-saving, sustainable and locally appropriate techniques in road construction, and by contributing to appropriate capacity building. Within an overall goal of developing local and sustainable resource-based standards for Cambodias rural roads, SEACAP 19 is a natural progression to the earlier SEACAP 2 and SEACAP 8 projects, and has consolidated the successes of these and other related projects to improve community access by increasing the capacity of the MRD and the local communities. The project has three main technical components, namely applied research, project development and studies to prepare two rural road development tools. This project completion report describes the project including the contractual arrangements, the relationships with project partners and summarizes the main activities and outputs from the project.

SEACAP 19. Technical Paper No. 9. Review of unit rate costing systems.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:09:00 GMT

Miscellaneous A. Ahmedi and G. Morosiuk 2008 Unpublished project report, 41 pp. A comprehensive unit rate costing system had previously been prepared by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport . The costing system relates to materials, equipment and labour used for road works. This study focused on a review of the system.

SEACAP 19. Technical Paper No. 8. Review of a draft low cost structures manual.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:02:00 GMT

Miscellaneous R. Petts 2008 Unpublished project report, 14 pp. This document reports on a review of a previously written Low Cost Structures manual, developed to a preliminary draft stage using DfID funding under the previous Knowledge and Research (KaR) programme (Assignment R6851). The draft document has been recognised as an important knowledge compilation but was required to be completed, finalised and disseminated to achieve benefit from the already substantial investment. The review recommends that the draft be completed and published. This work is now underway as an extension to the SEACAP 19 project.

Responses to avian influenza in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

New papers from the STEPS Centre examine responses to avian influenza in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

Many Poor Countries Will Suffer as Climate Change Damages Fisheries

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A new DFID-funded study is the first to identify national economies that are likely to suffer most as climate change imperils fisheries. Research on fisheries worldwide warns that climate change combined with fisheries dependency and limited capacity to adapt pose a dangerous triple threat to countries in Africa, South America, and Asia

Tropical forests in poverty alleviation: from household data to global-comparative analysis

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:53:00 GMT

Current Forests are important to the rural livelihoods of poor people in developing countries. But due to the paucity of quality data on rural household economies in the tropics and sub-tropics, we know very little about just how important forests are, for what specific purposes they primarily serve, and for how many people forests are vital assets. This impedes the design of effective strategies for forest-based poverty alleviation. This project aims to fill these serious empirical gaps by using a uniform methodology to gather high-quality primary household data in about 25 sites with tropics-wide coverage. The global data bank (5-6000 households) with complete annualized income information and other economic and non-economic data will be used for a global-comparative analysis of forest-poverty linkages in rural household economies. Our goal is to analyse the general importance of various forest types in different aspects of rural livelihoods, identify major causes of geographical variation, and point to tangible options for interventions that actively enhance forest-based poverty alleviation. Specifically, we will test for hypotheses related to the alleged pro-poor role of market integration and of collective forest mangement at the local level. The data will also enable tests of broader microeconomic hypotheses regarding the role of natural resources in rural livelihoods, e.g. to what extent natural resources serve as seasonal gap-fillers, as safety nets in response to shocks, and as means of accumulating assets that eventually can lift people out of poverty. The project is integrated into the Poverty and Environment Network (PEN), coordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). PEN is an ongoing collaborative research effort between CIFOR, a network of PhD students, and external experts from ten universities including the University of East Anglia. PEN data collection is already advanced; we thus seek financial support over a three-year period mainly to establish a global data bank, to undertake the global-comparative data analysis, and to carry out synthesis & dissemination work. Research results will be communicated through a variety of media to the main intended beneficiaries that include academia, donors, multilaterals, and policy makers at different levels. The primary project objective is:
I. To undertake a comprehensive global-comparative analysis of the role of forests and environmental income in preventing and reducing rural poverty, built on a centrally coordinated pan-tropical data bank with high-quality primary household and village data collected though PEN (research outputs);
The secondary project objectives are:
II. To elaborate recommendations for tangible forest-poverty interventions, and feed them into national and global policy processes (policy impacts);
III. To enhance the ability of project partners in using best-practice methods for conducting income-accounting rural household surveys, and to suggest improved research methodologies for future studies of environmental incomes and rural livelihoods (capacity building and methodological innovation).

Improving rural roads is a key factor in reducing rural poverty

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Road experts met recently in Vientiane, Laos, for the 3rd SEACAP Practitioners Meeting to discuss the programme's work during the past year.

Innovative techniques in rural road access open up areas for more food production

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

DFID's research programme SEACAP in South East Asia produces solutions for regional planning and local participation

South East Asia Community Access Programme (SEACAP)

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:29:00 GMT

Completed

Sustainable and affordable rural access is a necessary precondition for expanding social and economic opportunities for rural women and men, thereby enhancing pro-poor growth and poverty alleviation efforts.

SEACAP was a poverty-targeted transport initiative within the Global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP) framework. It was aimed at improving the sustainable access of people in rural communities to health, education, employment and trade opportunities, with projects in Cambodia, Laos PDR, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

SEACAP provided funding for applied research to solve rural access problems. It communicated information about the research outcomes to stakeholders, and supported the mainstreaming of the solutions.

The programme identified and supported the uptake of low cost, proven solutions for rural access. Focused on the needs of poor women and men, it aimed to maximise the use of LOCAL resources, including labour, materials, enterprise and most ingenuity.

Goal: Livelihoods of poor and vulnerable peoples in SE Asia improved sustainably.

Purpose: Sustainable access to health, education and trade for rural communities, creating pro-poor growth

The overall relationship between improved rural access and reduced rural poverty is well established. The main contribution that SEACAP has made is improving the sustainability of investments in rural transport.

SEACAP did not select target communities. It worked through other programmes that were investing in rural transport infrastructure. Reports from these programmes indicate that the investments were reducing poverty in the targeted communities.

The impact of SEACAP on poverty reduction efforts will increase with time as the approaches developed are increasingly rolled out.

SEACAP contributed to the sustainability of rural access in all three target countries. This was done by influencing the stakeholders to use appropriate technologies and assisting with the development of key building blocks such as policy, strategy, standards and specifications. The SEACAP supported policies and strategies in Vietnam and Cambodia are leading to enhanced local participation nationwide.

*Best practice on road technology mainstreamed in SE Asia.
*Evidence of effect of appropriate rural road technology disseminated.
*Sustainable ownership mechanisms for construction and maintenance of local road systems.
*Knowledge and research capacity in SEA improved and key knowledge disseminated and adopted.
*Status of improving access to basic infrastructure for the poor in Cambodia reviewed and further work proposed.

The Project was completed on 30/06/2009.

The Project Completion Report made the following comments:

SEACAP has improved knowledge about what constitutes good practice in the construction of rural access. However, this information still needs to be more fully disseminated amongst all those involved in funding, planning and implementing rural transport in SEA to provide a sustainable basis for lasting strategic change.

SEACAP has made progress at the level of formulating improved practice, standards and specifications. But "mainstreaming" of this framework into influencing investment decisions is a long way from complete and deserves continued support. Considerable risks remain that this knowledge is not absorbed and that outputs such as standards and specifications can still be ignored by practitioners on the ground - through ignorance or perverse incentives - thereby continuing inefficiencies in the choice of rural road technologies.

SEACAP has made a considerable body of relevant knowledge on rural road construction and maintenance accessible. This has been achieved through a combination of original research based on existing knowledge and good practice. These outcomes of research have been disseminated through a great variety of mechanisms, to the academic world in the region, to government and to development partners. However, as yet this has not been "mainstreamed" to the extent that had been the original intention. It is therefore too early to state that SEACAP has contributed to improving access to health, education and trade.

No baseline measurements on poverty were made under SEACAP. Beneficiary target communities were not defined in the Project Document. But SEACAP has contributed significantly to the level of knowledge about cost effective rural road construction technologies in SEA. This knowledge has been distributed widely amongst decision makers and practitioners.

Considerable progress achieved with the formulation of policy, standards and specifications representing the outcome of SEACAP-funded research. Some of these accepted into law or decree.

The outcomes of SEACAP research have been disseminated through numerous appropriate channels, including (a) academic world in SEA; (b) relevant government departments controlling rural infrastructure at central and provincial level; and (c) donor community.

Rural Transport Strategy in Viet Nam, and "Inter Ministerial and Program cooperation for Rural Transport Development. Road Law and Rural Road Policy in Cambodia re-formulated and approved at technical level; suitable for adoption by Cabinet. Road policy in Lao PDR already in place.

Considerable interaction with main development partners involved in road sector in all three project countries. However, adoption of technologies agreed by Government at strategy or specification level not necessarily followed by all donor funded programmes.

Training delivered down to local (district and commune) level in road construction and maintenance techniques. Funding presents main risk.

SEACAP has interacted considerably with local research institutions, and has increased or improved the profile of applied research in road construction issues. However, with present availability of skills and priorities for spending, it is not likely that a SEACAP-style research programme would continue without external funding, management and encouragement.

SC 2 (Transport Mainstreaming Partnership for Cambodia) reviewed many aspects of rural transport.

Research and capacity building in reproductive and sexual health and HIV/AIDS in developing countries

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:40:00 GMT

Current Reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Failure to achieve this goal will jeopardise other MDGs on poverty eradication, education, and maternal and child health. Success depends critically on improving access to effective interventions for those who are particularly vulnerable to infection (e.g. the poor). Access may be improved and protective behaviour increased through a number of strategies: e.g. mass communication of safe sex messages, together with social marketing of products such as condoms and STI diagnostic tests; provision of integrated SRH and HIV services which decrease stigma and thereby increase uptake; and provision of more effective biomedical interventions which can bring improved diagnostics and preventive technologies to all sections of society. Consortium partners have a long history of working in each of these areas. To support a research programme that will strengthen the evidence base to enable policy makers to identify and prioritise interventions that will improve reproductive and sexual health and reduce HIV incidence among economically poor populations in Africa and Asia. Strategies for behaviour change.

Integration of SRH and HIV services.

New biomedical tools.

Two large community randomised trials measuring the effectiveness of school-based and peer-led adolescent SRH interventions in Tanzania (Mema kwa Vijana study) and Zimbabwe (Regai Dzive Shiri study) have shown that young peoples knowledge about how to prevent HIV increased, and that these effects were sustained for at least 5 years. However, the interventions did not lead to a reduction in HIV, other STIs or unplanned pregnancies. These results will be important in guiding the future direction of HIV prevention activities for young people. The two studies communicated their results simultaneously in several fora including with national and international policy makers and researchers and have proven very influential in shaping the WHO Adolescent and Child Health Departments strategies for curbing HIV incidence in young populations.
A study commissioned by the National AIDS Control Programme in Pakistan, funded by DFID Pakistan and conducted by LSHTM researchers and collaborators from Pakistan shed much-needed light on the health and behaviour of populations often neglected or persecuted, in South Asia and elsewhere. The research has shown that violence, abuse and discrimination are commonly experienced by sex workers and injecting drug users, and can increase the likelihood of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. A future HIV epidemic is likely to be concentrated in those with highest levels of STIs and the highest levels of abuse transgender sex workers. Our research has also shown that policy recommendations targeted at transgender sex workers will have little support among society, and will be difficult for the government and public sector to implement, but they could be implemented successfully by NGOs, with donor funding and support.
As a result of our published evaluations which showed that the new point-of-care (POC) diagnostic dipstick tests for syphilis perform well in screening programmes for pregnant women, these tests were made available at discounted prices through the WHO bulk procurement programme. In 2009, a decision was made to use them for antenatal screening in Ghana, and they will now being rolled out nationally to all antenatal clinics in the country. In Tanzania, our results encouraged the government to agree to introduce one of POC test as a demonstration project, which we will evaluate. The Brazilian government has also decided to use them for screening hard-to-access populations in the Amazonas Region, following several evaluations which we conducted in the region.

Pro-Poor Policy Options to Control Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Africa and South East Asia

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current Since its emergence, H5N1 HPAI has attracted considerable public and media attention because the viruses involved have been shown to be capable of producing fatal disease in humans, which gives rise to the fear that the virus might acquire the capacity for sustained human-to-human transmission and thus cause a global influenza pandemic.

Driven by the fear of a possible human pandemic, responses to HPAI outbreaks have generally been top-down, heavy handed government interventions. Control measures have centred on stamping out which may entail large scale culling of infected flocks and in-contact flocks and the high concentration of poultry in certain areas has led to the culling of millions of animals at great expense. For low income countries in which poultry is raised primarily by smallholders, who are often poor, such measures constitute a serious burden, and thus lead to socially unjust outcomes and/or be undermined.

In order to improve local and global and capacity for making evidence-based decisions on the control of HPAI (and other diseases with epidemic potential), which inevitably have major social and economic impacts in particular on the poor, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) has funded a multi-disciplinary and collaborative HPAI research project in Southeast Asia and Africa.

The DFID-funded research programme focuses on Africa and Southeast Asia and will examine the best ways to control avian flu but also how to reduce the impact of the disease on poor peoples' livelihoods, for example through farmer compensation schemes.

This pioneering research will help find ways of helping the poor while also ensuring appropriate control measures are followed so that farmers do not hide, slaughter or eat infected birds.

1. Deeper understanding of HPAI risk

The risk of disease in livestock populations is a result of biological processes and economic behaviour of livestock keepers and traders. Current control regimes promoted by policy makers respond primarily to biological disease characteristics, while private actors, who have a major role to play in disease control, respond primarily to economic incentives. To more effectively manage HPAI risks in areas, in which the disease has become established, and thereby to limit local economic damage and wider implications of disease propagation and supply chain disruption, a deeper understanding of the interactions between animal health promotion and the economics of livestock production and marketing is needed. The first objective of this project is to provide such insights from detailed and rigorous field research.

2. Emphasis on institutions and livelihoods.

Disease outbreaks and control measures affect not only animal health but livelihoods. In developing countries, extensively raised backyard livestock are an essential source of both food security and livelihood support. This means that control measures will animate complex responses at the local level, responses that can undermine both programme effectiveness and economic wellbeing of the poor. To manage this risk in ways that are both biologically and socially effective thus requires detailed understanding of both disease epidemiology and institutions.

3. Substantive and innovative policy guidance

HPAI is not unprecedented, but early responses to this disease indicate that a new generation of policies are needed to address this animal and public health risk. Despite determined early eradication efforts, outbreaks continue on a now regular cycle and in some areas the disease appears to have become endemic. Evidence also suggests that conventional control measures have unintended and at times unanticipated behavioural consequences that undermine their effectiveness and compound negative economic consequences, particularly with respect to sustainable smallholder livelihoods. With this in mind, the project will focus on substantive recommendations from direct evidence regarding poultry production, distribution, processing, and marketing systems. This kind of integrated health and behavioural approach is a significant innovation that can support new policies to combat a larger universe of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and at the same time address the needs of poor majorities in the subject countries. Both rural and urban poor populations need a secure and affordable food supply, and smallholder farmers need to be recognized as part of the solution to protecting a global commons of disease freedom.

1. Increased awareness by public, private, and tertiary sector organizations of the contribution of poultry to rural livelihoods and of the social impacts of alternative disease control strategies.

2. A set of effective and socially fair options and implementation strategies for HPAI control that work in different settings under different types of production arrangements and for different types of producers.

3. Risk and consequences of HPAI for different regions and stakeholders understood.

Africa and Indonesia:

Descriptive reports on the HPAI situation, control measures and the impact on livelihoods completed for all study countries.
Household level CBAs will be completed in all 5 study countries by April 2010.
Risk maps and pathways produced for each study country.
* Qualitative risk assessment will be ready by autumn 2009.

Mekong countries:

Detailed studies of smallholder poultry value chains have been completed in all three countries.
Spatial disease spread and changes therein analysed for northern Vietnam and Thailand. Analysis for southern Vietnam is underway.
Ex-post stratified impact assessment of HPAI control strategy has been carried out for all three countries.
* Review and modelling of economic and epidemiological impacts of vaccination against HPAI is close to finalization.
Literature review of HPAI transmission pathways from birds to humans finalized.
Literature review of the economic impact of HPAI and control measures in developing countries published by CABI.

1. The strategic framework of the One World One Health initiative pays attention to livelihoods aspects of disease control and picks up multidisciplinary and localized approaches to disease control as promoted by the DFID HPAI research program.

2. UNSIC repeatedly stresses livelihoods impacts of HPAI control [e.g. see interview on program website http://www.hpai-research.net/index.html]

3. Work is being published/cited, in particular the study of compensation issues by WB/FAO/IFPRI/OIE.

4. NGOs such as CARE and AVSF are focusing their HPAI-related interventions on the protection of the livelihoods of smallholder poultry producers.

5. Vietnam and Thailand have revised their culling strategies leading to much slighter livelihoods impacts.

6. Vietnam interested in scaling up the pilot project on the certification of safe poultry production carried out by the research project.

Low Cost Machines to Accelerate Landmine Clearance

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed To develop a low cost vegetation clearance vehicle suitable for manufacture in poor countries, for improving the cost effectiveness of humanitarian mine clearance. The University of Warwick has designed and developed a remote controlled ground based system to assist vegetation clearance and neutralise tripwire initiated anti-personnel mines called "TEMPEST". The system consists of a diesel powered hydraulically driven chassis, a RF remote control subsystem, and a 1.2 metre wide horizontal flail head. An initial prototype machine has been developed and field tested in Cambodia. In parallel with this, a unit has also been deployed for field testing in Bosnia. Both programmes proved very successful and on the basis of these the development of the TEMPEST has been carried forward to a point where, by the end of the project in December 1999, a viable design will be available for replication. Interest in the purchase and deployment of the TEMPEST has been expressed not only by NGO's engaged in humanitarian demining in poor countries but also by the US military. There has recently also been some interest in further commercial development and exploitation of the design.

Self-recruiting species in aquaculture - their role in rural livelihoods

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed Traditionally, aquaculture extension messages in rural Asia have sought to encourage production based on the use of hatchery-produced fish and other management inputs such as the sanitation of the culture unit, and optimal fertilisation, feeding and harvest strategies. This approach has allowed resource-rich farmers to intensify production and improve returns, but has not always been adoptable by poorer producers.

Recent research has highlighted the importance of self-recruiting species (SRS) in both natural and managed habitats to the livelihoods of the rural poor. As aquaculture continues to expand through the creation of new habitats and the enhancement of natural habitats and stocks, the availability of SRS will become increasingly linked to their production within aquaculture systems.

A range of indigenous and introduced fish species; as well as molluscs, crustacea and amphibians are inevitably present in many rural aquaculture systems unless deliberately eradicated.

The introduced tilapias, which tend to reproduce easily under pond conditions often play a similar role. Even under commercial culture conditions, small ,trash, fish, which are available to workers as payment in kind or are sold at low price may contribute to the livelihoods of poor non-fish farmers in rural and urban areas.

The importance of valuable, usually carnivorous wild fish species that typically enter fishponds in floodplain areas, in meeting farmers' needs is also now more appreciated.

Self-recruiting species may thus play an important role in the complex livelihoods of sections of the rural and urban poor. Aquaculture extension messages have so far not only ignored the importance of these resources, but often promoted management actions that have served effectively to reduce their availability. To characterise the role of self-recruiting species in different aquaculture systems, and to develop management approaches that enhance the production of and access to such resources by the poor. The substantial and long-overlooked role of farmer managed aquatic systems in sustaining wild fish stocks and fisheries has been documented. Management strategies for aquatic resources in farmer managed systems have been developed. A theoretical underpinning and practical assessment tools for the management of stock enhancements has been developed. Role of self-recruiting species (SRS) in Asian aquaculture systems understood.

Importance of SRS from aquaculture systems in local livelihoods defined.

Management strategies defined to optimise benefits of SRS.

Dissemination and promotion to wider user base. 1. Role of SRS in Asian farmer managed aquatic (aquaculture) systems understood.

This output has been achieved. A conceptual framework has been developed to aid classification and understanding of SRS systems.

2. Importance to livelihoods of SRS produced in aquaculture systems defined.

This output has been achieved. SRS have been shown to be important for poor people, both for home consumption and sale. SRS from farmer managed systems (ponds, ditches and rice fields) are most important in upland areas where other waterbodies are limited. Seasonally they are especially important during the dry season when access to other water bodies becomes limited. Value addition (drying, fermenting) is an important activity resulting from increased seasonal availability of non-stocked aquatic animals from farmer managed systems.

3. Management strategies defined to optimise production of and access to SRS within the livelihoods of the poor.

This output has been achieved. Management strategies have been investigated using observational, experimental and modelling approaches. Due to the strong linkages between large waterbodies and farmer managed systems, location specific group management shows promise in the maintenance and enhancement of SRS in poor communities. Specific technical interventions that have been identified as effective include keeping of broodstock, re-stocking of collected juveniles and the screening (or not) of pond entrances. Farmers who previously excluded SRS have observed that having SRS in the system does not negatively affect the production of stocked fish. The population dynamics of SRS and systems that rely on mixed SRS/stocked fish have been investigated theoretically and in field studies and management principles derived.

4. Dissemination of results and promotion of management and policy recommendations.

This output has been largely achieved. There has been substantial dissemination during the project. A proposal for a short project to further disseminate and promote outputs has been submitted to AFGRP.

APO ICLARM Mekong Project

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Awaiting Confirmation of Completion To supply the services of an APO to work closely with the Mekong Project in order to ensure the sucessful implementation of the research project "Valuation of the Aquatic Resources of the Mekong River Basin".

Cambodia Post-Harvest Fisheries Livelihoods Project

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current The Cambodia Post-Harvest Fisheries Livelihoods Project (CPHFLP) aims to develop an understanding of how the post-harvest fisheries sector can be better managed for the benefit of the poor. It seeks to encourage the implementation of policies and management strategies that improve the livelihoods of vulnerable people in the sector. The workplan developed for the project consists of a number of interlinked activities.

These are focussed on:

1) The development of a post harvest fisheries overview for Cambodia and the commissioning of nodal studies to improve the understanding of key issues and provide options that institutions and stakeholders may wish to consider in relation to applying a particular principle.

2) The building of capacity of CFDO and provincial CFDO staff to enable the development of sustainable post harvest fisheries livelihoods

3) The implementation of pilot impact projects to improve livelihoods of the poor in post-harvest fisheries.

Enabling Adolescents to Improve Reproductive Health - Safe Passages to Adulthood

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed To generate and communicate new knowledge that will contribute to the development of policy and the provision of effective services and education for young people's reproductive health.

More specifically:

To fill knowledge gaps relating to the nature, magnitude and consequences of reproductive and sexual health problems amongst young people
To identify the situation-specific determinants of young people's sexual behaviour
To identify culturally-appropriate means by which barriers to good sexual and reproductive health can be overcome
To identify new opportunities to introduce and evaluate innovative programmes and interventions
To develop concepts and methods appropriate to the investigation of young people's sexual and reproductive health.

Culture fisheries assessment methodology

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed 1.)Development of rigorous quantitative methods for the assessment and management of culture fisheries. This involves the development and improvement of population models and of methods for the estimation of model parameters.
2.)Development of simple assessment tools and procedures for use in communal and co-operative (government-fisherfolk) management of small-scale culture fisheries.
3.)Economic evaluation of culture fisheries, with particular reference to options in seed production and fishery access rights.
4.)Assessment of the environmental impact of culture fisheries and their interactions with other inland aquatic resource uses.
5.)Development of a framework for the appraisal of culture fisheries development. There has already been significant uptake of project results in India, Thailand, and Laos, where the new assessment methodology is being applied in various projects. In India, the adaptive management approach and quantitative assessment tools developed under the project are used by the Indo-German Reservoir Fisheries Project in Kerala. The Royal Thai Department of Fisheries uses project methodology in its work on both village fishponds and larger reservoirs. Two training workshops have been held in the Department, and participants have started to prepare a Thai language manual for culture fisheries assessment based on course material. The Livestock and Veterinary Services in Savannakhet, Lao PDR are using project methodology in the adaptive project R6338cb, and in their routine work. Results have also been taken up internationally by FAO, who have invited contributions on the methodology for their forthcoming Expert Consultation on Fisheries Enhancements. Quantitative methods for the biological/technical assessment of culture fisheries have been developed. A comparative, empirical analysis has been carried out of mortality-size relationships in natural ecosystems and in aquaculture. The results provide a basis for the optimisation of seed size in culture fisheries, and are also of wider relevance to the design of aquaculture systems. A transparent modelling technique for culture fisheries assessment has been developed. All analyses, from parameter estimation to yield prediction, are carried out in computer spreadsheeets. The models are easily adapted to take account of culture system specifics and data availability. A prototype software package for the analysis of stocking in seasonal water bodies has also been designed, and the feasibility of developing an expert system for Chinese reservoir culture explored.

For the bio-economic analysis of culture fisheries, technical/ biological system models have been integrated with economic techniques for profitability, activity and investment analysis. Bio-economic analyses have been employed to assess stocking and harvesting patterns in operational culture fisheries, to appraise the benefits and costs of integrating culture fisheries with seed production, and to evaluate stocking and effort control options in developing culture fisheries.

Rapid and participatory appraisal (RRA/PRA) methods were adapted for the assessment of resource use conflicts and the distribution of benefit from culture fisheries. An RRA sequence has been developed to facilitate the rapid appraisal of key issues in culture fisheries, without compromising the flexible and adaptive nature of the RRA and PRA approach. Rapid appraisal methods were also adapted to obtain detailed information for the technical and bio-economic assessment of culture fisheries and other aquatic resource uses.

The methodology developed has been integrated into a framework for the appraisal of culture fisheries development options. A checklist of key issues that should be addressed in such an appraisal has also been developed.

The methodology developed has been applied to three case studies in China, India and Thailand. In China, highly developed extensive culture systems were analysed with respect to their technical and economic efficiency. In India, development options in an artisanal, moderately enhanced fishery were analysed with respect to stocking and effort control. In Thailand, village fisheries managed for community income were studied with respect to stocking and harvesting patterns, prediction of yield from limnological characteristics, use conflicts, and distribution of benefits.

Deadline for submitting proposals for RIU's Challenge Fund is noon on 30 September

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:00:00 GMT

A newsflash from the Research into Use (RIU) team provides useful guidance on submitting proposals for the Challenge Fund, based on an interview with Dr Frances Kimmins

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Initial findings of a project to analyse cultural approaches to HIV/AIDS highlight a need for a shift in donor culture

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Rural communities require year-round sustainable access...