Community-led resettlement: From a flood affected slum to a new society in Pune, India

This paper describes the resettlement process of a community devastated by annual floods, to newly constructed housing in Pune, India. The relocation from Kamgar Putala slum to a housing society at Hadapsar was organized by a community-led NGO partnership in 2004. The housing development was coordinated by the local NGO Shelter Associates with significant community participation. The housing has been revisited in 2010 to evaluate the sustainability of the resettlement project’s delivery model via stakeholder perception. The process of organizing for resettlement after natural disaster is described along with the implementation and evaluation of the new housing nearly six years after initial occupation. The strong partnership approach overcame a series of political and financial hurdles at various stages of the relocation project. The story of resettling Kamgar Putala is detailed alongside an outline of the current political climate for an alternative slum-upgrading policy in India and Pune. The advantages of an empowered community supported by an influential local NGO demonstrate a commendable team effort which has tackled the threat of floods. The paper highlights the merits of a community-led partnership approach to housing development for achieving sustainable urban development as well as the alleviation of poverty in a developing context.

A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF THE ELBOW JOINTS IN 5 SPECIES OF CHINESE MACAQUES

In this paper, we report the findings of a comparative study of the elbow joints of five species of macaque that inhabit China: Macaca assamensis, M. arctoides, M. mulatta, M. thibetana and M. nemestrina. Results of multivariate analyses of size-related variables and indices of the elbow joint suggested that the breadths of the ventral aspect of the trochlea and of the medial epicondyle of the humerus as well as indices describing the head of the radius are important factors for discriminating these species. The elbow joint of M. arctoides was most similar to that of M. thibetana, no doubt reflecting recency of common ancestry and similarity in terrestrial locomotion. The structures of the elbow joints in M. nemestrina and assamensis seemed more adapted to arboreal quadrupedalism. The elbow joint of M. mulatta, however, appears intermediate between the most terrestrial and the most arboreal forms.

SCALING OF LIMB PROPORTIONS AND LIMB BONE DIAMETERS IN 3 SPECIES OF CHINESE SNUB-NOSED LANGURS (GENUS RHINOPITHECUS)

In this study, aspects of the structural mechanics of the upper and lower limbs of the three Chinese species of Rhinopithecus were examined. Linear regression and reduced major axis (RMA) analyses of natural log-transformed data were used to examine the dimensions of limb bones and other relationships to body size and locomotion. The results of this study suggest that: (1) the allometry exponents of the lengths of long limbs deviate from isometry, being moderately negative, while the shaft diameters (both sagittal and transverse) show significantly positive allometry; (2) the sagittal diameters of the tibia and ulna show extremely significantly positive allometry - the relative enlargement of the sagittal, as opposed to transverse, diameters of these bones suggests that the distal segments of the fore- and hindlimbs of Rhinopithecus experience high bending stresses during locomotion; (3) observations of Rhinopithecus species in the field indicate that all species engage in energetic leaping during arboreal locomotion. The limbs experience rapid and dramatic decelerations upon completion of a leap. We suggest that these occasional decelerations produce high bending stresses in the distal limb segments and so account for the hypertrophy of the sagittal diameters of the ulna and tibia.

Mandibular variation among Chinese macaques

In order to clarify the degree to which mandibular variation among Chinese macaques results from functional adaptation and phylogenetic inertia, 13 mandibular variables were analyzed by bivariate and multivariate techniques. The results indicate, not surprisingly, that the main differences in the mandible are associated with size. The study further implies that the variation between species is not closely associated with differences in functional adaptation even though the dietary and related differences are large compared to the situation in other macaques. The great variety in diet and related factors among Chinese macaques may not have yet resulted in a significant variation in the mandible. This may be because their radiation in Asia, though involving considerably greater differences in habitat, climate, and so on, has occurred more recently than for other macaque species in Southeast Asia. Mandibular variation between these species, therefore, is likely to be more closely tied to their immediate prior phylogenetic history. For example, the two stump-tailed macaques are closely similar and are also closely similar to the Assam species. Function in the mandible in these species is quite different. The results, therefore, seem to support the hypothesis that these three macaque species should be placed in a single species-group (sinica) as proposed by Delson [1980], Pan [1998], and Pan et al. [1998]. (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Phylogenetic Relationships of the Chinese and Vietnamese Waterfall frogs of the genus Amolops

Ranid frogs of the genus Amolops occur in Southeast Asia and are typically found near waterfalls. Their phylogenetic relationships have not been resolved. We include 2,213 aligned nucleotide sites of the 12S, 16S and tRNA(val) gene regions of the mitochondrial DNA genome from 43 individuals of Chinese and Vietnamese Amotops, Huia, Hylarana, Meristogenys, Odorrana and Rana. The outgroup species were from the genera Chaparana, Limnonectes, Nanorana, and Paa. The data were analyzed within the framework of a refutationist philosophy using maximum parsimony. Four clades of waterfall frogs were resolved. Meristogenys was not resolved as the sister group to either Huia nor Amolops. The hypothesis Of evolutionary relationships placed Amolops chapaensis and Huia nasica in the genus Odorrana.

Community-led resettlement: From a flood-affected slum to a new society in Pune, India

This paper describes the resettlement process of a community devastated by annual floods, to newly constructed housing in Pune, India. The relocation from Kamgar Putala slum to a housing society at Hadapsar was organized by a community-led NGO partnership in 2004. The housing development was coordinated by the local NGO Shelter Associates with significant community participation. The housing has been revisited in 2010 to evaluate the sustainability of the resettlement project's delivery model via stakeholder perception. The process of organizing for resettlement after natural disaster is described along with the implementation and evaluation of the new housing nearly six years after initial occupation. The strong partnership approach overcame a series of political and financial hurdles at various stages of the relocation project. The story of resettling Kamgar Putala is detailed alongside an outline of the current political climate for an alternative slum-upgrading policy in India and Pune. The advantages of an empowered community supported by an influential local NGO demonstrate a commendable team effort which has tackled the threat of floods. The paper highlights the merits of a community-led partnership approach to housing development for achieving sustainable urban development as well as the alleviation of poverty in a developing context. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.