Methyl methacrylate (MMA) and alumina recovery from waste artificial marble powder pyrolysis

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Owing to various advantages of artificial marble compared to natural marble, its application has been rising exponentially, which has resulted in...     

Establishment of unit generation rates of building debris in Kathmandu Valley,Nepal, after the Gorkha earthquake

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Significant quantities of building waste were generated from collapsed residential and dilapidated buildings as a result of the disastrous Gorkha...     

Plant biodiversity and ethnobotany inside the projected impact area of the Upper Seti Hydropower Project,Western Nepal

A survey of plant biodiversity and ethnobotany was conducted along the Seti river banks in the Tanahun district of Western Nepal. This area, home of the Magar ethnic group, will be impacted by a major hydropower project, currently under feasibility study. The objective of the study was to document plant biodiversity and ethnobotany in order to suggest appropriate conservation and management strategies. Botanical sampling was conducted inside quadrats and along transects. A total of 221 plant species were recorded in the study area, distributed as herbs (80 species), trees (68), shrubs (28), climbers (19), pteridophytes (18), lianas (5), and epiphytes (3). Twelve of the inventoried species figure in one or more conservation categories identified by various national or international agencies. Group discussions and personal interviews allowed to find out that 43% of the species were ethnobotanically important for the local people and that most were used as medicine, food, or timber. We propose specific species for sustainable use programs based on certain criteria. The area is very important in terms of plant biodiversity and ethnobotany, and hence, immediate implementation of conservation measures is recommended to maintain the high social, ecological and economic values of the area.     

Comparative study of torrefaction of empty fruit bunches and palm kernel shell

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This paper describes the effect of torrefaction on the characteristics of empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm kernel shell (PKS). The torrefaction...     

Comparison of carbon balances between continuous-cover and clear-cut forestry in Sweden

Continuous-cover forestry (CCF) has been recognized for the production of multiple ecosystem services, and is seen as an alternative to clear-cut forestry (CF). Despite the increasing interest, it is still not well described how CCF would affect the carbon balance and the resulting climate benefit from the forest in relation to CF. This study compares carbon balances of CF and CCF, applied as two alternative land-use strategies for a heterogeneous Norway spruce (Picea abies) stand. We use a set of models to analyze the long-term effects of different forest management and wood use strategies in Sweden on carbon dioxide emissions and carbon stock changes. The results show that biomass growth and yield is more important than the choice of silvicultural system per se. When comparing CF and CCF assuming similar growth, extraction and product use, only minor differences in long-term climate benefit were found between the two principally different silvicultural systems.     

Valuation of crop genetic resources in Kaski, Nepal: farmers' willingness to pay for rice landraces conservation

Crop genetic resources constitute an important aspect of biodiversity conservation, both because of their direct value to the farmers and due to their indirect global value. This study uses the contingent valuation method to document the economic value of crop genetic resources based on the farmers' willingness to pay for conservation. A total of 107 households in Kaski, Nepal were surveyed in November 2003. Their mean willingness to pay was USD 4.18 for in situ and USD 2.20 for ex situ conservation per annum. Landholding size, household size, education level, socio-economic status, sex of respondent, number of crop landraces grown, and knowledge on biodiversity influenced the willingness to pay for in situ conservation, whereas only landholding size and household size influenced the willingness to pay for ex situ conservation. The respondents were willing to contribute more for in situ than ex situ conservation because of the additional effect of direct use and direct involvement of the farmers in in situ conservation. This study supports the view that economic valuation of crop genetic resources can assist the policy makers in setting conservation priorities.     

Adsorption kinetics of the herbicide safeners, benoxacor and furilazole, to activated carbon and agricultural soils

Chloroacetamide herbicides, namely acetochlor and metolachlor, are common herbicides used on corn and soybean fields. Dichloroacetamide safeners, namely benoxacor and furilazole, are commonly used in formulations containing chloroacetamide herbicides. Extensive reports on adsorption of chloroacetamide herbicides are available, yet little information exists regarding adsorption potential of co-applied safeners. Herein, the adsorption and desorption characteristics of selected herbicide safeners to granular activated carbon (GAC) and in agricultural soils are reported. Further, soil column studies were performed to understand the leaching behaviour of the herbicide Dual II Magnum. Equilibrium sorption experiments of safeners to three agricultural soils and one GAC showed that adsorption was best fitted by the Freundlich isotherm. The Freundlich adsorption constant, K_f, for benoxacor and furilazole sorption onto three agricultural soils ranged from 0.1 to 0.27 and 0.1 to 0.13 (mg/g) × (mg/L)?(1/n), respectively. The K_f for benoxacor and furilazole to GAC was 6.4 and 3.4 (mg/g) × (mg/L)?(1/n), respectively, suggesting more favorable sorption of benoxacor to GAC than furilazole to GAC. The sorption to soils was reversible as almost 40%–90% of both safeners was desorbed from three soils. These results were validated in four replicated soil column studies, where S-metolachlor was shown to leach similarly to the safener benoxacor, originating from the herbicide formulation. The leaching of S-metolachlor and benoxacor was influenced by soil texture. Cumulatively, these results show that safeners will move through the environment to surface waters similarly to the active ingredients in herbicides, but may be removed during drinking water treatment via GAC.     

REDD+ comes with money,not with development: an analysis of post-pilot project scenarios from the community forestry of Nepal Himalaya

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) attracts poor nations to keep their forest standing only to sequester carbon through monetary incentives. However, in countries like Nepal where forest is an integral part of social practices, communities need to keep using forests for making a living. Based on household survey, field interview, personal observation, and broad review of forestry legislations, this paper scrutinizes villagers’ experiences of changes in forest management after implementation of a REDD+ pilot project in nine Community Forestry Users Groups (CFUGs) of Nepal. Since REDD+ was not initiated by local communities but tacitly implemented by international NGOs, most villagers lacked knowledge about it and the associated benefits from the pilot project, thus fewer villagers were found to be motivated to participate in the pilot project. Consequently, it delinked villagers from their forest by implicitly tightening uses rules, which resulted in constraints to fetch forest products. In addition, REDD+ benefits were distributed to some poor households but not to all, which resulted to an antagonistic sentiment in the villages. Thus, a rigorous assessment of conditions and framework of REDD+ and an involvement of local community from the start without compromising in the uses of forest products is of the utmost importance before considering the REDD+ framework as an alternative or as similar to CFUG in Nepal. Alternatively, REDD+ can be a part or a development project under the CFUG’s framework, which could be socially as well as legally acceptable on the present situation.