A global experiment on tilapia aquaculture: impacts of the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP in Rwanda, Honduras, Philippines and Thailand

The Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (PDA/CRSP) is a global research network to generate basic science that may be used to advance aquaculture development. One of a family of research programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the CRSP focuses on improving the efficiency of aquaculture systems. The PDA/CRSP began work in 1982 in Thailand, and subsequently in the Philippines, Honduras, the US and, until recently, Rwanda. At all the sites, the goal is the same: to identify constraints to aquaculture production, and to design responses that are environmentally and culturally appropriate. The research network's global experiment has focused on tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), although some sites have devoted attention to marine shrimp and other locally significant species. Impact of the network's investigations with tilapia is examined in this article.

Reports of the ICSF seminar / workshop on the conditions of fishworkers on distant water vessels, Manila, Philippines, 1-3 February 1991

This ICSF Exchange Programme held in Manila is an offshoot of the Bangkok Conference on “Global Fisheries Trends and Future of Fishworkers” held on January 22–27, 1990. One of the issues raised in that conference was about the operation of Taiwanese fishing vessels outside its territorial waters and the impact of such operations on small fishermen from the countries concerned. The presence of a Taiwanese fishworker as well as an NGO supporter contributed to an enlightening discussion as the former shed light on the sad plight of Taiwanese fishworkers who are the victims of such structural problems. This meaningful exchange between groups of fishermen, particularly Taiwanese and Filipinos, resulted in the plan of the Taiwanese delegation to have some Taiwanese fishermen visit the Philippines and immerse in fishing communities.

Rabies control in the developing world: Results of a cross-sectional study in Bohol, Philippines

Rabies remains a significant problem in much of the developed world, where canine rabies is not well controlled, and the bite of an infected dog is the most common means of transmission. The Philippines continues to report several hundred cases of human rabies every year, and many more cases go undetected. In recent years, the province of Bohol has been targeted by the Philippine government and the World Health Organization for a rabies eradication program. ^ The primary objective of this dissertation research was to describe factors associated with dog vaccination coverage and knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding rabies among households in Bohol, Philippines. Utilizing a cross-sectional cluster survey design, we sampled 460 households and 541 dogs residing within dog-owning households. ^ Multivariate linear regression was used to examine potential associations between knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) and variables of interest. Forty-six percent of households knew that rabies was spread through the bite of an infected dog. The mean knowledge score was 8.36 (SD: ± 3.4; range: 1–24). We found that having known someone with rabies was significantly associated with an almost one point increase in the knowledge score (β = 0.88; p = 0.02). The mean attitudes score was 5.65 (SD: ± 0.63; range: 2–6), and the mean practices score was 7.07 (SD: ± 1.7; range: 2–9). Both the attitudes score and the practices score were positively and significantly associated with only the knowledge score and no other covariates. ^ Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between dog vaccination coverage and variables of interest. Approximately 71% of owned dogs in Bohol were reported as vaccinated at some time during their lives. We found that a dog's age was significantly associated with vaccination, and the odds of vaccination increased in a linear fashion with age. We also found that dogs had approximately twice the odds of being vaccinated if they were confined both day and night to the household premises or if the owner was employed; however, these results were only marginally significant (p = 0.07) in the multivariate model. ^ Finally, a systematic review was conducted on canine rabies vaccination and dog population demographics in the developing world. We found few studies on this topic, especially in countries where the burden of rabies is greatest. Overall, dog ownership is high. Dogs are quite young and do not live very long due to disease and accidents. The biggest deterrent to vaccination is the rapid dog population turnover. ^ It is our hope that this work will be used to improve dog rabies vaccination programs around the world and save lives, both human and canine.^

Element and isotope composition of selected volcanics from the Bicol arc, Philippines

Pliocene to recent volcanic rocks from the Bulusan volcanic complex in the southern part of the Bicol arc (Philippines) exhibit a wide compositional range (medium- to high-K basaltic-andesites, andesites and a dacite/rhyolite suite), but are characterised by large ion lithophile element enrichments and HFS element depletions typical of subduction-related rocks. Field, petrographic and geochemical data indicate that the more silicic syn- and post-caldera magmas have been influenced by intracrustal processes such as magma mixing and fractional crystallisation. However, the available data indicate that the Bicol rocks as a group exhibit relatively lower and less variable 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7036-0.7039) compared with many of the other subduction-related volcanics from the Philippine archipelago. The Pb isotope ratios of the Bicol volcanics appear to be unlike those of other Philippine arc segments. They typically plot within and below the data field for the Philippine Sea Basin on 207Pb/204Pb versus 206Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb versus 206Pb/204Pb diagrams, implying a pre-subduction mantle wedge similar to that sampled by the Palau Kyushu Ridge, east of the Philippine Trench. 143Nd/144Nd ratios are moderately variable (0.51285-0.51300). Low silica (<55 wt%) samples that have lower 143Nd/144Nd tend to have high Th/Nd, high Th/Nb, and moderately low Ce/Ce* ratios. Unlike some other arc segments in the Philippines (e.g. the Babuyan-Taiwan segment), there is little evidence for the involvement of subducted terrigenous sediment. Instead, the moderately low 143Nd/144Nd ratios in some of the Bicol volcanics may result from subduction of pelagic sediment (low Ce/Ce*, high Th/Nd, and high Th/Nb) and its incorporation into the mantle wedge via a slabderived partial melt.

Sex trafficking : the global market in women and children

This book is one of a series on contemporary social issues. It provides a painstakingly researched analysis of the contemporary phenomenon of sex trafficking. As the author Kathryn Farr points out, the phenomenon is not all that contemporary, as women and children have historically been trafficked and enslaved for the purposes of prostitution, particularly during war: in World War II on the southern islands of Okinawa, the Philippines, Hawaii, Liberia, Japan, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, and more recently in Bosnia and Rwanda. Farr links the phenomenon to military socialization, especially to its patriarchal culture which celebrates hyper-masculinity, eroticizes violence, desensitizes soldiers to suffering and brutality and treats women as sex objects.

The Biology, Epidemiology, and Management of Rice Tungro Disease in Asia

Many farmers in South and Southeast Asia describe rice tungro disease as a cancer disease because of the severe damage it causes and the difficulty of controlling it (121). As the most important of the 14 rice viral diseases, tungro was first recognized as a leafhopper-transmitted virus disease in 1963 (88). However, tungro, which means “degenerated growth” in a Filipino dialect, has a much longer history. It is almost certain that tungro was responsible for a disease outbreak that occurred in 1859 in Indonesia, which was referred to at the time as mentek (83). In the past, a variety of names has been given to tungro, including accep na pula in the Philippines, penyakit merah in Malaysia, and yelloworange leaf in Thailand (83).

Biodiversity–productivity relationships in small-scale mixed-species plantations using native species in Leyte province, Philippines

In this study, we investigate the relationship between tree species diversity and production in 18 mixed-species plantations established under the Rainforestation Farming system in Leyte province, the Philippines. The aim was to quantify productivity in the mixed-species plantations in comparison to the monocultures, and identify key drivers of productivity including environmental conditions, stand structural characteristics and surrogate measures of biodiversity, i.e. species richness, Shannon’s diversity index and functional groups. We found that monocultures had a much higher productivity than mixtures of the same and other species. In the mixtures, biodiversity and productivity did not have a simple relationship. Instead the proportion of exotic and native species, and the proportion of fast-growing species had a marginally significant positive effect on stand productivity, but no significant relationship was found with species richness or Shannon’s diversity. Instead stand structural characteristics such as density and age were the strongest drivers of increased productivity. Production levels within the mixed-species plantations varied significantly between sites. Overall, we found that the productivity of mixed species plantations was driven more by the characteristics of species present and stand structural characteristics then by simply the number and abundance of species, which suggests management practices are key for balancing multiple objectives to meet sustainable development needs.

Application of a digital elevation model for flood modeling for the Pagsangaan River in Leyte

Flood related scientific and community-based data are rarely systematically collected and analysed in the Philippines. Over the last decades the Pagsangaan River Basin, Leyte, has experienced several flood events. However, documentation describing flood characteristics such as extent, duration or height of these floods are close to non-existing. To address this issue, computerized flood modelling was used to reproduce past events where there was data available for at least partial calibration and validation. The model was also used to provide scenario-based predictions based on A1B climate change assumptions for the area. The most important input for flood modelling is a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the river basin. No accurate topographic maps or Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR)-generated data are available for the Pagsangaan River. Therefore, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Map (GDEM), Version 1, was chosen as the DEM. Although the horizontal spatial resolution of 30 m is rather desirable, it contains substantial vertical errors. These were identified, different correction methods were tested and the resulting DEM was used for flood modelling. The above mentioned data were combined with cross-sections at various strategic locations of the river network, meteorological records, river water level, and current velocity to develop the 1D-2D flood model. SOBEK was used as modelling software to create different rainfall scenarios, including historic flooding events. Due to the lack of scientific data for the verification of the model quality, interviews with local stakeholders served as the gauge to judge the quality of the generated flood maps. According to interviewees, the model reflects reality more accurately than previously available flood maps. The resulting flood maps are now used by the operations centre of a local flood early warning system for warnings and evacuation alerts. Furthermore these maps can serve as a basis to identify flood hazard areas for spatial land use planning purposes.

Sunshine, rainfall, humidity and child pneumonia in the tropics : time-series analyses

Few studies have formally examined the relationship between meteorological factors and the incidence of child pneumonia in the tropics, despite the fact that most child pneumonia deaths occur there. We examined the association between four meteorological exposures (rainy days, sunshine, relative humidity, temperature) and the incidence of clinical pneumonia in young children in the Philippines using three time-series methods: correlation of seasonal patterns, distributed lag regression, and case-crossover. Lack of sunshine was most strongly associated with pneumonia in both lagged regression [overall relative risk over the following 60 days for a 1-h increase in sunshine per day was 0·67 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0·51–0·87)] and case-crossover analysis [odds ratio for a 1-h increase in mean daily sunshine 8–14 days earlier was 0·95 (95% CI 0·91–1·00)]. This association is well known in temperate settings but has not been noted previously in the tropics. Further research to assess causality is needed.

Taking culture seriously : the case of Indigenous knowledge and food security

Mainstream discourse on the revolving around food security is often portrayed by macro level indicators on nutrition, consumption and food production. While these indicators may prove significant in addressing food security in the national and regional levels, it falls short in addressing it among the indigenous peoples’ (IP) communities in the Philippines. Reflecting through the experiences in agricultural production, indigenous knowledge and socio-political institutions are relevant factors that must be seriously considered when food security among IPs are concerned. It is argued that disregarding micro level interactions over macro development policies will not address the issue of food security among marginalized sectors. The paper presents policy recommendations in taking cultural systems seriously in addressing food security among indigenous peoples.