| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
GLOBAL CHANGE, TROPICAL FOREST DYNAMICS, AND LAND SUBSIDENCE
Francis Okeke is a researcher at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, and a specialist in Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing. He is interested in collaborative research with any EU organisation or Institution in the area of Global Change and Ecosystems, Tropical Forest Dynamics, and Land Subsidence.
Dr. Ing. Francis I. Okeke
Department of Geoinformatics and
Surveying, University of Nigeria
Enugu Campus
Nigeria
Phone: +234 42 251180
Mobile: +234 80 35627286
E-mail: francisokeke@yahoo.com
DEMANDE DE COENCADREMENT
J’ai l’honneur de vous ecrire pour vous demander si vous avez un professeur peut encadrer mon travail dans votre laboratoire de recherche, car je suis interessé par une bourse qui mise en charge par AUF (agence universitaire de la francophonie) et j’ai besoin d’un laboratoire d’accueil. Je vous informe que je suis étudiante marocaine en première année de doctorat et mon sujet de recherche conserne: la culture in vitro du cèdre de l’Atlas réparti en differentes sous axes de recherche. Dans l’attente d’une réponse que j’espère favorable veillez accepter Monsieur mes meilleures salutations.
Touria Hsina
E-mail: thsina@yahoo.fr
DRYLANDSCOPE ELIBRARY PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO LAND DEGRADATION IN DRYLANDS WORLDWIDE
A new initiative aimed at facilitating greater communication among researchers and practitioners working in the drylands of the world (arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid regions) will be launched. This web-based resource to foster greater discussion on the ecological dimensions of drylands systems, unifying such technical fields as agroecology and ecological restoration with traditional practical management concerns will focus on the following general subject areas:
Individuals interested are invited to explore the pre-release version of our web resource, to solicit constructive feedback in order to expand our existing content, and to better serve the needs of the concerned community at large. In an effort to better support the existing network in the field of drylands study and management, publicly accessible content will be linked from the participants’ website, becoming available through our eLibrary. All hyperlinks open in a separate browser window, allowing users to freely navigate through the hyperlinked website. We invite submissions of relevant reference material which you believe would be supportive of our work. Please visit our website and contact us directly with any ideas you may have.
Drylandscope is an emerging organisation dedicated to the belief that the problems associated with land degradation can be remedied through a practical, ecologically based strategy. The goal of sustainable drylands management is achieved, among others, through providing a useful platform for open information access and dialogue on all subjects pertinent to this process. Individuals who have not previously been in communication with one another due to either geography or subject area specialisation may therefore derive benefit from a platform for active sharing of information.
A centralized web library of techniques and technologies for prevention and rehabilitation of degraded drylands, and for the sustainable use of natural resources in these affected areas will be developed. This resource will highlight open content which allows Users to download and post articles, management notes, diagrams, and video and audio files to and from the website. Web forums will also be linked to the categories associated with the above eLibrary, to maintain a practical technology focus, with a priority on encouraging allied organisations to collaborate with one another through discussion groups and the like.
The initial content emphasises full-text technical references, however, it will expand our resources responding to the information needs expressed by our website Users. At present, submissions can only be received via email, however formal submissions transfer technology will soon be available. Coming services are “chat room”, “news feeds” and personalised “portal” networking technology for our Users.
Registration through the website is free and open to all. Interested individuals and organisations are encouraged to actively participate in our programming, as we grow to address your needs: http://www.drylandscope.org
Many thanks again to everyone who has so generously supported Drylandscope’s activities to date.
Contact:
Adam White
Director Drylandscope
710 Gaskill St., SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30316
USA
Phone: +1 404 2233699
E-mail: adam@drylandscope.org
Website: http://www.drylandscope.org
COMPARING ALLANBLACKIA AGROFORESTRY WITH OTHER LAND-USE OPTIONS
Unilever, in collaboration with other organisations such as IUCN, ICRAF, SNV, GTZ, and Oxfam Netherlands, is in the process of developing a supply chain for Allanblackia seeds. Allanblackia trees grow in the wet tropical forests of West Africa, Central Africa and the mountain hills of Tanzania.
The domestication work has made good progress. Now, we would like to recommend farmers to plant this new treecrop. But before we can do so, we have to make sure that this tree crop fits into their landuse system and can become more profitable than many current options, such as Eucalyptus, teak, cocoa, oilpalm, coconut, cassava, yam, plantain, maize, and pineapple.
Therefore, we would like to compare the economics of growing Allanblackia with other crops of the indicated region. To get this result quickly and efficiently, we would prefer to integrate Allanblackia data into an existing study to compare Allanblackia with other crops in this region. We are looking for data on investment, input, output, and revenue for other profitable crops. Who has these data available and would like to contribute to this work?
Kind regards,
Dr. Harrie Hendrickx,
Unilever R&D,
Phone: +31 6 11385383
E-mail: Harrie.Hendrickx@unilever.com
BIODIVERSITY FACTS AND FIGURES
The new SciDev.net biodiversity ‘facts and figures’ section provides crucial data about the current state of the world’s biodiversity. It includes recent estimates of extinction threats, detailed assessments on the economic and ecological value of biodiversity and provides the latest information on conservation efforts. Go to http://www.scidev.net/biofacts to find out more.
The data is based mostly on the best available sources including Conservation International, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, the World Conservation Union’s 2004 Red List of Threatened Species, the World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Report, and the Earth Trends database of the World Resources Institute.
Inevitably, there will be gaps and errors that need correcting. The editors welcome comments and feedback from readers, which can be emailed to: biodiversity@scidev.net
Readers will not have failed to notice that while the majority of the world’s biodiversity is found in the developing world, most of the data has been collected and analysed in institutions that are based in richer countries.
Thankfully, several international initiatives are now underway to build the biodiversity data-gathering capacity of research institutions in developing countries and to connect these to efforts in the developed world. These include the “Global Biodiversity Information Facility” and the Proteus project of the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre in the UK.
The editors, Mike Shanahan and Ehsan
Masood welcome comments and feedback
from readers.
Please write to: biodiversity@scidev.net
(text based on SCIDEV.net website)
GROWING STRUCTURES OF FICUS
José Rojas is a student at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, currently researching growing structures. He is specifically interested in the ficus family, and would like to receive information about wood resistance, growth times, height, width, molecular integration etc. Please contact José if you have any information or suggestions.
José Rojas
Design Academy Eindhoven
The Netherlands
E-mail: peiperx@mac.com