Barriers to plantation activities in different agro-ecological zones of Southern India

This paper analyses environmental and socio-economic barriers for plantation activities on local and regional level and investigates the potential for carbon finance to stimulate the increased rates of forest plantation on wasteland, i.e., degraded lands, in southern India. Building on multidisciplinary field work and results from the model GCOMAP, the aim is to (1) identify and characterize the barriers to plantation activities in four agro-ecological zones in the state of Karnataka and (2) investigate what would be required to overcome these barriers and enhance the plantation rate and productivity. The results show that a rehabilitation of the wasteland based on plantation activities is not only possible but also anticipated by the local population and would lead to positive environmental and socio-economic effects at a local level. However, in many cases, the establishment of plantation activities is hindered by a lack of financial resources, low land productivity and water scarcity. Based on the model used and the results from the field work, it can be concluded that certified emission reductions such as carbon credits or other compensatory systems may help to overcome the financial barrier; however, the price needs to be significantly increased if these measures are to have any large-scale impact.

Steady compressible flow of cohesionless granular materials through a wedge-shaped bunker

A continuum model based on the critical-state theory of soil mechanics is used to generate stress, density, and velocity profiles, and to compute discharge rates for the flow of granular material in a mass flow bunker. The bin–hopper transition region is idealized as a shock across which all the variables change discontinuously. Comparison with the work of Michalowski (1987) shows that his experimentally determined rupture layer lies between his prediction and that of the present theory. However, it resembles the former more closely. The conventional condition involving a traction-free surface at the hopper exit is abandoned in favour of an exit shock below which the material falls vertically with zero frictional stress. The basic equations, which are not classifiable under any of the standard types, require excessive computational time. This problem is alleviated by the introduction of the Mohr–Coulomb approximation (MCA). The stress, density, and velocity profiles obtained by integration of the MCA converge to asymptotic fields on moving down the hopper. Expressions for these fields are derived by a perturbation method. Computational difficulties are encountered for bunkers with wall angles θw [gt-or-equal, slanted] 15° these are overcome by altering the initial conditions. Predicted discharge rates lie significantly below the measured values of Nguyen et al. (1980), ranging from 38% at θw = 15° to 59% at θw = 32°. The poor prediction appears to be largely due to the exit condition used here. Paradoxically, incompressible discharge rates lie closer to the measured values. An approximate semi-analytical expression for the discharge rate is obtained, which predicts values within 9% of the exact (numerical) ones in the compressible case, and 11% in the incompressible case. The approximate analysis also suggests that inclusion of density variation decreases the discharge rate. This is borne out by the exact (numerical) results – for the parameter values investigated, the compressible discharge rate is about 10% lower than the incompressible value. A preliminary comparison of the predicted density profiles with the measurements of Fickie et al. (1989) shows that the material within the hopper dilates more strongly than predicted. Surprisingly, just below the exit slot, there is good agreement between theory and experiment.

Community-based Natural Resource Management: Issues and Cases from South Asia

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is the joint management of natural resources by a community based on a community strategy, through a participatory mechanism involving all legitimate stakeholders. The approach is community-based in that the communities managing the resources have the legal rights, the local institutions and the economic incentives to take substantial responsibility for sustained use of these resources. This implies that the community plays an active role in the management of natural resources, not because it asserts sole ownership over them, but because it can claim participation in their management and benefits for practical and technical reasons1–4. This approach emerged as the dominant conservation concept in the late 1970s and early 1980s, of the disillusionment with the developmental state. Governments across South and South East Asia, Africa and Latin America have adopted and implemented CBNRM in various ways, viz. through sectoral programmes such as forestry, irrigation or wildlife management, multisectoral programmes such as watershed development and efforts towards political devolution. In India, the principle of decentralization through ‘gram swaraj’ was introduced by Mahatma Gandhi. The 73rd and 74th constitution amendments in 1992 gave impetus to the decentralized planning at panchayat levels through the creation of a statutory three-level local self-government structure5,6. The strength of this book is that it includes chapters by CBNRM advocates based on six seemingly innovative initiatives being implemented by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in ecologically vulnerable regions of South Asia: two in the Himalayas (watershed development programme in Lingmutechhu, Bhuthan and Thalisain tehsil, Paudi Grahwal District, Uttarakhand), three in semi-arid parts of western India (watershed development in Hivre Bazar, Maharashtra and Nathugadh village, Gujarat and water-harvesting structures in Gopalapura, Rajasthan) and one in the flood-plains of the Brahmaputra–Jamuna (Char land, Galibanda and Jamalpur districts, Bangladesh). Watersheds in semi-arid regions fall in the low-rainfall region (500–700 mm) and suffer the vagaries of drought 2–3 years in every five-year cycle. In all these locations, the major occupation is agriculture, most of which is rainfed or dry. The other two cases (in Uttarakhand) fall in the Himalayan region (temperate/sub-temperate climate), which has witnessed extensive deforestation in the last century and is now considered as one of the most vulnerable locations in South Asia. Terraced agriculture is being practised in these locations for a long time. The last case (Gono Chetona) falls in the Brahmaputra–Jamuna charlands which are the most ecologically vulnerable regions in the sub-continent with constantly changing landscape. Agriculture and livestock rearing are the main occupations, and there is substantial seasonal emigration for wage labour by the adult males. River erosion and floods force the people to adopt a semi-migratory lifestyle. The book attempts to analyse the potential as well as limitations of NGOdriven CBNRM endeavours across agroclimatic regions of South Asia with emphasis on four intrinsically linked normative concerns, namely sustainability, livelihood enhancement, equity and demographic decentralization in chapters 2–7. Comparative analysis of these case studies done in chapter 8, highlights the issues that require further research while portraying the strengths and limits of NGO-driven CBNRM. In Hivre Bazar, the post-watershed intervention scenario is such that farmers often grow three crops in a year – kharif bajra, rabi jowar and summer vegetable crops. Productivity has increased in the dry lands due to improvement in soil moisture levels. The revival of johads in Gopalpura has led to the proliferation of wheat and increased productivity. In Lingmuteychhu, productivity gains have also arisen, but more due to the introduction of both local and high-yielding, new varieties as opposed to increased water availability. In the case of Gono Chetona, improvements have come due to diversification of agriculture; for example, the promotion of vegetable gardens. CBNRM interventions in most cases have also led to new avenues of employment and income generation. The synthesis shows that CBNRM efforts have made significant contributions to livelihood enhancement and only limited gains in terms of collective action for sustainable and equitable access to benefits and continuing resource use, and in terms of democratic decentralization, contrary to the objectives of the programme. Livelihood benefits include improvements in availability of livelihood support resources (fuelwood, fodder, drinking water), increased productivity (including diversification of cropping pattern) in agriculture and allied activities, and new sources of livelihood. However, NGO-driven CBNRM has not met its goal of providing ‘alternative’ forms of ‘development’ due to impediments of state policy, short-sighted vision of implementers and confrontation with the socio-ecological reality of the region, which almost always are that of fragmented communities (or communities in flux) with unequal dependence and access to land and other natural resources along with great gender imbalances. Appalling, however, is the general absence of recognition of the importance of and the will to explore practical ways to bring about equitable resource transfer or benefit-sharing and the consequent innovations in this respect that are evident in the pioneering community initiatives such as pani panchayat, etc. Pertaining to the gains on the ecological sustainability front, Hivre Bazar and Thalisain initiatives through active participation of villagers have made significant regeneration of the water table within the village, and mechanisms such as ban on number of bore wells, the regulation of cropping pattern, restrictions on felling of trees and free grazing to ensure that in the future, the groundwater is neither over-exploited nor its recharge capability impaired. Nevertheless, the longterm sustainability of the interventions in the case of Ghoga and Gopalpura initiatives as the focus has been mostly on regeneration of resources, and less on regulating the use of regenerated resources. Further, in Lingmuteychhu and Gono Chetona, the interventions are mainly household-based and the focus has been less explicit on ecological components. The studies demonstrate the livelihood benefits to all of the interventions and significant variation in achievements with reference to sustainability, equity and democratic decentralization depending on the level and extent of community participation apart from the vision of implementers, strategy (or nature of intervention shaped by the question of community formation), the centrality of community formation and also the State policy. Case studies show that the influence of State policy is multi-faceted and often contradictory in nature. This necessitates NGOs to engage with the State in a much more purposeful way than in an ‘autonomous space’. Thus the role of NGOs in CBNRM is complementary, wherein they provide innovative experiments that the State can learn. This helps in achieving the goals of CBNRM through democratic decentralization. The book addresses the vital issues related to natural resource management and interests of the community. Key topics discussed throughout the book are still at the centre of the current debate. This compilation consists of well-written chapters based on rigorous synthesis of CBNRM case studies, which will serve as good references for students, researchers and practitioners in the years to come.

Potential for increasing carbon sink in Himachal Pradesh, India

In this study, the potential for increasing the tree cover and thereby the biomass and carbon as a mitigation option of three categories of wastelands, irrespective of their tenure, are considered. The area under wastelands in Himachal Pradesh, according to NRSA (2005), is estimated to be 2.83 Mha. Among the 28 categories of wastelands reported by NRSA, only 15 categories exist in Himachal Pradesh. In the present study, three land categories are considered for estimating the mitigation potential. They include: (i) Degraded forestland, (ii) Degraded community land and (iii) Degraded and abandoned private land. Choice of species or the mix of species to be planted on the three land categories considered for reforestation is discussed. Carbon pools considered in the present study are those, which account only for aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and soil organic carbon. This study estimates the mitigation potential at the state level considering land available under more than one category. It also provides a roadmap for future work in support of mitigation analysis and implementation.

Algal biofuel production and mitigation potential in India

Energy and energy services are the backbone of growth and development in India and is increasingly dependent upon the use of fossil based fuels that lead to greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and related concerns. Algal biofuels are being evolved as carbon (C)-neutral alternative biofuels. Algae are photosynthetic microorganisms that convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide (CO2) to various sugars and lipids Tri-Acyl-Glycols (TAG) and show promise as an alternative, renewable and green fuel source for India. Compared to land based oilseed crops algae have potentially higher yields (5-12 g/m(2)/d) and can use locations and water resources not suited for agriculture. Within India, there is little additional land area for algal cultivation and therefore needs to be carried out in places that are already used for agriculture, e.g. flooded paddy lands (20 Mha) with village level technologies and on saline wastelands (3 Mha). Cultivating algae under such conditions requires novel multi-tier, multi-cyclic approaches of sharing land area without causing threats to food and water security as well as demand for additional fertilizer resources by adopting multi-tier cropping (algae-paddy) in decentralized open pond systems. A large part of the algal biofuel production is possible in flooded paddy crop land before the crop reaches dense canopies, in wastewaters (40 billion litres per day), in salt affected lands and in nutrient/diversity impoverished shallow coastline fishery. Mitigation will be achieved through avoidance of GHG, C-capture options and substitution of fossil fuels. Estimates made in this paper suggest that nearly half of the current transportation petro-fuels could be produced at such locations without disruption of food security, water security or overall sustainability. This shift can also provide significant mitigation avenues. The major adaptation needs are related to socio-technical acceptance for reuse of various wastelands, wastewaters and waste-derived energy and by-products through policy and attitude change efforts.

Mining sentiments from songs using latent dirichlet allocation

Song-selection and mood are interdependent. If we capture a song’s sentiment, we can determine the mood of the listener, which can serve as a basis for recommendation systems. Songs are generally classified according to genres, which don’t entirely reflect sentiments. Thus, we require an unsupervised scheme to mine them. Sentiments are classified into either two (positive/negative) or multiple (happy/angry/sad/...) classes, depending on the application. We are interested in analyzing the feelings invoked by a song, involving multi-class sentiments. To mine the hidden sentimental structure behind a song, in terms of “topics”, we consider its lyrics and use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Each song is a mixture of moods. Topics mined by LDA can represent moods. Thus we get a scheme of collecting similar-mood songs. For validation, we use a dataset of songs containing 6 moods annotated by users of a particular website.

Reuse, recycle to de-bloat software

Most Java programmers would agree that Java is a language that promotes a philosophy of “create and go forth”. By design, temporary objects are meant to be created on the heap, possibly used and then abandoned to be collected by the garbage collector. Excessive generation of temporary objects is termed “object churn” and is a form of software bloat that often leads to performance and memory problems. To mitigate this problem, many compiler optimizations aim at identifying objects that may be allocated on the stack. However, most such optimizations miss large opportunities for memory reuse when dealing with objects inside loops or when dealing with container objects. In this paper, we describe a novel algorithm that detects bloat caused by the creation of temporary container and String objects within a loop. Our analysis determines which objects created within a loop can be reused. Then we describe a source-to-source transformation that efficiently reuses such objects. Empirical evaluation indicates that our solution can reduce upto 40% of temporary object allocations in large programs, resulting in a performance improvement that can be as high as a 20% reduction in the run time, specifically when a program has a high churn rate or when the program is memory intensive and needs to run the GC often.

Distribution, relative abundance, and conservation status of Asian elephants in Karnataka, southern India

Karnataka state in southern India supports a globally significant and the country's largest population of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus. A reliable map of Asian elephant distribution and measures of spatial variation in their abundance, both vital needs for conservation and management action, are unavailable not only in Karnataka, but across its global range. Here, we use various data gathered between 2000 and 2015 to map the distribution of elephants in Karnataka at the scale of the smallest forest management unit, the `beat', while also presenting data on elephant dung density for a subset of `elephant beats.' Elephants occurred in 972 out of 2855 forest beats of Karnataka. Sixty percent of these 972 beats and 55% of the forest habitat lay outside notified protected areas (PM), and included lands designated for agricultural production and human dwelling. While median elephant dung density inside protected areas was nearly thrice as much as outside, elephants routinely occurred in or used habitats outside PM where human density, land fraction under cultivation, and the interface between human-dominated areas and forests were greater. Based on our data, it is clear that India's framework for elephant conservation which legally protects the species wherever it occurs, but protects only some of its habitats while being appropriate in furthering their conservation within PM, seriously falters in situations where elephants reside in and/or seasonally use areas outside PAs. Attempts to further elephant conservation in production and dwelling areas have extracted high costs in human, elephant, material and monetary terms in Karnataka. In such settings, conservation planning exercises are necessary to determine where the needs of elephants or humans must take priority over the other, and to achieve that in a manner that is based not only on reliable scientific data but also on a process of public reasoning. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical Investigations for Leakage and Windage Heating in Straight-Through Labyrinth Seals

The ability to quantify leakage flow and windage heating for labyrinth seals with honeycomb lands is critical in understanding gas turbine engine system performance and predicting its component life. Variety of labyrinth seal configurations (number of teeth, stepped or straight, honeycomb cell size) are in use in gas turbines, and for each configuration, there are many geometric factors that can impact a seal's leakage and windage characteristics. This paper describes the development of a numerical methodology aimed at studying the effect of honeycomb lands on leakage and windage heating. Specifically, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed utilizing commercial finite volume-based software incorporating the renormalization group (RNG) k-epsilon turbulence model with modified Schmidt number. The modified turbulence model is benchmarked and fine-tuned based on several experiments. Using this model, a broad parametric study is conducted by varying honeycomb cell size, pressure ratio (PR), and radial clearance for a four-tooth straight-through labyrinth seal. The results show good agreement with available experimental data. They further indicate that larger honeycomb cells predict higher seal leakage and windage heating at tighter clearances compared to smaller honeycomb cells and smooth lands. However, at open seal clearances larger honeycomb cells have lower leakage compared to smaller honeycomb cells.