Power and People


Book Description

This report is an output of the technical assistance activity carried out over 2008-2010 to Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), which is the nodal renewable energy agency of Nepal. This study has been designed to establish a monitoring system for AEPC to continually measure the results of the renewable energy programs against the targets and to organize an evaluation system that measures the impact of micro-hydro installations on rural livelihoods. Given AEPC’s highly visible role, the need to develop a system that provides information on a wide range of technical, operational, and financial parameters is similarly high. This study developed a robust yet simple M and E framework for all the programs of AEPC that is focused on the needs of the decision-makers, as well as the interests of the relevant stakeholders. The integrated M and E system encompasses all of AEPC’s programs in micro-hydro, solar, biomass, improved water mills, and biogas, and builds its capacity to execute it. The focus has been to develop performance indicators across the entire causal chain from project intervention to on-the-ground impacts. The M and E framework incorporates not only the activities undertaken and the outputs but also the impact on the beneficiaries which is critical to gain a better perspective of the impact of the interventions and to support future planning processes and decision-making. The final impacts of electrification on households and businesses are evaluated using a primary household and enterprise survey. A wide range of outcomes including quality of lighting, income generation, health, education, fertility, women’s empowerment, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction are considered. AEPC is now equipped with not only the state-of-the-art monitoring system but also with a trained staff to sustainably manage and add to the system, as required.




Handbook of Research on the Conservation and Restoration of Tropical Dry Forests


Book Description

Tropical dry forests are the most exploited and endangered ecosystems in the world. A combination of climatic and human factors often reduce these forests to patches of dry scrubs or savannas. Because these ecosystems experience a more arduous and less anticipated environment, they are more prone to environmental stress as plant communities are developed. Therefore, urgent research is necessary to understand both the detrimental issues and problem-solving approaches to conserving these important forests. The Handbook of Research on the Conservation and Restoration of Tropical Dry Forests is a pivotal reference source that combines theory and practice on the current trends and issues in this important ecological subject and discusses future challenges towards conservation strategies of these tropical dry forests. While highlighting topics such as forest management, natural regeneration, and silviculture, this publication examines the anthropogenic impacts on tropical dry forests and the necessity to rebuild their ecosystems. This book is ideally designed for state forest agency professionals, resource managers, non-governmental organization agents, ecologists, botanists, environmentalists, students, and researchers seeking current research on the threats to these forests.







The SAGE Handbook of Environment and Society


Book Description

"A monumental and timely contribution to scholarship on society and environments. The handbook makes it easy and compelling for anyone to learn about that scholarship in its full manifestations and as represented by some of the most highly respected researchers and thinkers in the English-speaking world. It is wide-reaching in scope and far-reaching in its implications for public and private action, a definite must for serious researchers and their libraries." - Bonnie J McCay, Rutgers University "This is the desert island book for anyone interested in the relationship between society and the environment. The editors have assembled a masterful collection of contributions on every conceivable dimension of environmental thinking in the social sciences and humanities. No library should be without it!′ - Robyn Eckersley, University of Melbourne The SAGE Handbook of Environment and Society focuses on the interactions between people, societies and economies, and the state of nature and the environment. Editorially integrated but written from multi-disciplinary perspectives, it is organised in seven sections: Environmental thought: past and present Valuing the environment Knowledges and knowing Political economy of environmental change Environmental technologies Redesigning natures Institutions and policies for influencing the environment Key themes include: locations where the environment-society relation is most acute: where, for example, there are few natural resources or where industrialization is unregulated; the discussion of these issues at different scales: local, regional, national, and global; the cost of damage to resources; and the relation between principal actors in the environment-society nexus. Aimed at an international audience of academics, research students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers, The SAGE Handbook of Environment and Society presents readers in social science and natural science with a manual of the past, present and future of environment-society links.




Practices of Poverty Measurement and Poverty Profile of Nepal


Book Description

Reviews the poverty measuring practices, available measures of poverty, and economic growth figures of Nepal. The poverty rates for FY 1976-77, 1984-85, and 1995-96 are found to be not comparable due to change in methodology over time. The three poverty rates average 40%. Nepal has experienced high economic growth during the 7th (1985-86 to 1989-90) and 8th (1992-93 to 1996-97) Plan periods with no strong evidences of poverty reduction. This incompatible result is partially explained by comparing growth of the agricultural sector with the role of the sector in providing employment and income generation at the household level, and by comparing social indicators particularly literacy rate with the growth of the nonagricultural sector. Tables.