PARTICIPATORY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH : A Review

This paper traces the recent emergence of the new participatory forest management regime in AP Joint Forest Management (JFM) and Community Forest Management (CFM). This paper is based on the existing literature on forest policies, the historical context (pre-colonial, colonial and post independent India), and impact studies. The paper considers the contemporary developments in India in shaping the forest policies in AP. At the same time it considers the significant role played by donors and civil society. The process and quality of implementation, and the impact of the programme on local communities and resources are also examined. AP ranks fifth in India in terms of geographical area (275,068 sq km), and third in terms of forestland (63,813 sq km or 6.38 mha (Million Hectares), which constitutes 23% of APs total land area. Some 65% of APs forest area is spread over 8 predominantly tribal districts in the northern part of the state. These tribal populations are particularly dependent on the forest for their livelihoods for forest product collection and cultivation on forestland. Historically the relationship between these tribals and the government agencies, particularly the Forest Department (FD), has been very poor, with numerous uprisings, including the Naxalite movement. Many of these lands are disputed due to inadequacies in the legal processes by which largely tribal lands were declared state forests. Legally podu has de jure status prior to 1980 Act. Post 1980 podu cultivation is illegal and considered as encroachment. De facto podu is considered as encroachment (prior to 1980) as there is no proper settlement, conceptually typical podu practice is seen only in a few pockets in the state, especially in Vishakhapatnam. In 1956, on the formation of AP from Telangana and parts of the Madras Presidency, the pre-existing forest management regimes from the two distinct areas were harmonised by the Law Commission, leading to the AP Forest Act, 1967. Initially the states FD continued with a policy of commercialisation and revenue generation. However, with a growing crisis of forest degradation participatory approaches were introduced. The Government Order (GO) for JFM in AP was issued in 1992, although implementation didnt start until 1994. JFM has built on the roles played by both local forest *Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, India. +Overseas Development Group, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. users and the FD staff. Funding to the FD to promote JFM has come from both the World Bank (WB) and from centrally funded schemes, such as the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS). Formation of Vana Samrakshana Samithies (VSS) began slowly after the GO, although by 2004 the official number stands at 7,245 VSS, managing 1,886,764 ha, (or over 29% of state forest land) and involving 611,095 families. The largest numbers of VSS are concentrated in the tribal areas of Adilabad, Visakhapatnam, and Khammam. The pattern of implementation and the outcomes is extremely complex, partly because of the wide variety of local conditions, ethnic and caste composition and local livelihood uses of forestland. The limited devolution of power which has occurred through VSS formation have however certainly been popular in many areas, because they have given local people endorsement to protect their local forest resources, upon which they depend for their livelihoods. Some employment opportunities have also been provided and some shares of revenues from forest product marketing are promised. Evidence suggests that the VSS have been successful in many areas in terms of regenerating degraded forests between 1993 and 1999. However there have been many criticisms of the JFM programme so far, most fundamentally focussing on the issues of power and land tenure. Because the FD has held almost complete discretionary power over the scheme and its implementation, the JFM process has inevitably reflected their objectives. Whilst many foresters have espoused very progressive ideas and concepts, in practice the implementation of the scheme has often furthered forest management strategy according to silvicultural norms, rather than local livelihood-oriented practices. In the context of a fundamental power asymmetry between the FD and the VSS., there has been little empowerment of local communities to take their own decisions with respect to forest management. This is most obviously seen in forest management plans. Whilst local people would like to see livelihood oriented forest management regime (ie. regular product flows, shorter term rotations, multiple product mixes) the FD has tended to prioritise its conventional forest management practices, often involving long rotation timber stands. The micro-plans commonly fit within wider divisional working plans. Livelihoods security could be increased if the forest resource were under a management plan, which actually prioritised local needs and opportunities. Institutional sustainability is a major problem in AP with many VSS becoming defunct due to conflict, lack of interest, or lack of funds. Where participation has been based on substantial funding flows, when the funds stop the motivation to participate reduces drastically. The institutional linkage between the VSS and the panchayat raj institutions has not been developed, which could ensure not only long-term sustainability, but also empowerment and legal independence of the local institutions. Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have been largely excluded from the implementation of JFM, despite the fact they have played a major role in formulating the PFM policies at the state level.Forest Management, Andhra Pradesh

Measurement of thermal and electrical conductivities of graphene nanofluids

This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.The current work experimentally investigates the thermal and electrical conductivities of nanofluids containing graphene sheets that have very high thermal conductivity. Here, the graphene is prepared from natural graphite by oxidation-reduction process through a single step method. The graphene nanofluid thus obtained exhibited greater stability even after six months of preparation without addition of any surfactants. The detailed characterization process involving TEM, UV absorption and DLS measurements revealed the well dispersed nature of nanofluid with sheets appropriately interconnected and entangled. The DLS measurement indicates a trimodal size distribution of graphene sheet ranging from 5nm to 1500nm. It was also found that the absorption peak of the sample was 269 nm. This reveals the complete reduction of graphene oxide to graphene and the value is in good agreement with the literature. The thermal conductivity is measured using the traditional Transient Hot Wire (THW) method and enhancements are substantial even at lower concentrations while such behaviour is not predicted by the classical Maxwell theory. The thermal conductivity of graphene nanofluids are measured for different concentrations of 0.01 - 0.2 volume % at different temperatures. It is observed that the thermal conductivity increases with increase in concentration of grapheme, which is as expected. The maximum enhancement obtained is 27% at 0.2% concentration. The enhancement also shows a strong temperature dependence which is unlike that of its carbon predecessors like CNT and graphene oxide nanofluids. Electrical conductivity is measured using a 4 cell conductivity meter with inbuilt automatic temperature compensation. Electrical conductivity enhancement is found to be linear with increase in graphene volume fraction

Ionic liquids and organic ionic plastic crystals utilizing small phosphonium cations

The development of new liquid and solid state electrolytes is paramount for the advancement of electrochemical devices such as lithium batteries and solar cells. Ionic liquids have shown great promise in both these applications. Here we demonstrate the use of phosphonium cations with small alkyl chain substituents, in combination with a range of different anions, to produce a variety of new halide free ionic liquids that are fluid, conductive and with sufficient thermal stability for a range of electrochemical applications. Walden plot analysis of the new phosphonium ionic liquids shows that these can be classed as &quot;good&quot; ionic liquids, with low degrees of ion pairing and/or aggregation, and the lithium deposition and stripping from one of these ionic liquids has been demonstrated. Furthermore, for the first time phosphonium cations have been used to form a range of organic ionic plastic crystals. These materials can show significant ionic conductivity in the solid state and thus are of great interest as potential solid-state electrolyte materials. <br /

Cardiomyocyte-restricted overexpression of extracellular superoxide dismutase increases nitric oxide bioavailability and reduces infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion

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Historical context of profesional ideology and tension and strain in the accounting profession

A growing literature points to a crisis of confidence in the accounting profession and a lack of commitment by its members to the professional ideology. In this paper the approach developed by MacIntyre is used to place professional ideology in an historical context. The paper argues that the tension and strain in the profession can be related to the changing character of both the contemporary society and professional ideology itself. It concludes by highlighting the need for the profession to develop an ideology to which its members as well as society can relate

Artificial tongues and leaves

The objective with synthetic multifunctional nanoarchitecture is to create large suprastructures with interesting functions. For this purpose, lipid bilayer membranes or conducting surfaces have been used as platforms and rigid-rod molecules as shape-persistent scaffolds. Examples for functions obtained by this approach include pores that can act as multicomponent sensors in complex matrices or rigid-rod π-stack architecture for artificial photosynthesis and photovoltaic

Plant Geometry, Macro and Micro Nutrients on Growth and Growth Analysis of Dual Purpose Sorghum under Rainfed Vertisol Condition

Field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Kovilpatti during rabi season (October 2017 to January 2018) to find out the suitable plant geometry, levels of fertilizers and foliar spray of micronutrients (Zn and Fe) at 15, 30 and 45 DAS to improve the growth and yield of sorghum variety K12 (dual purpose). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replication and twelve treatments. The treatment consists of two plant geometry, three different dose of fertilizer and foliar spray of micronutrients viz., 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.2% FeSO4 at 15, 30 and 45 DAS. Observation on growth parameters, growth analysis and finally grain and stover yield were recorded. The experimental results shows that reduced plant spacing of &nbsp;30 × 15 cm together with enhanced application of 50:25:25 kg NPK ha-1 + foliar spray of 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.2% FeSO4 at 15, 30 and 45 DAS significantly increased the growth parameters viz., plant height, stem girth and days to flowering. This attributes ultimately resulted in higher grain (3961 kg ha-1) and stover (13972 kg ha-1) yield of dual purpose sorghum compared to recommended practice of rainfed sorghum having 45 × 15 cm spacing and application of recommended 40:20:0 kg NPK ha-1 alone

Influence of Liming on Yield of Rice and Soil Properties in Acidic Soils of High Rainfall Zone

Soil acidity is an important agricultural problem while evaluating the production potential of most of the crops. A field experiment was conducted in farmers field at Gananadhasapuram village of Thovalai taluk (strongly acidic soil) and Andarkulam village of Agastheswaram taluk (moderately acidic soil) during Pishanam (Oct-Feb) and late Pishanam (Nov–Mar) season of 2017-2018 respectively, in the high rainfall zone to study the effect of different source and levels of lime on yield of rice and soil properties. Liming materials viz., dolomite and calcite were tried at different levels along with recommended fertilizers + ZnSO4. The experiment was conducted in RBD. The results of the experiment revealed that significantly higher grain (7.09 and 7.40 t ha-1) and straw (10.3 and 10.5 t ha-1) yield of rice were recorded with the application of dolomite @ 0.75 LR (6.36 t ha-1) (T7) and @ 0.50 LR (1.6 t ha-1) (T5) respectively in the strongly and moderately acidic soils along with recommended dose of fertilizers during pishanam and late pishanam seasons. The soil pH, EC, available NPK, exchangeable Ca, Mg and DTPA extractable Zn, Cu were increased and the DTPA extractable Fe and Mn were decreased upon lime application irrespective of the sources. The economics of various treatments revealed that, the highest B:C ratio (1.86 and 2.56) was recorded with the application of dolomite @ 0.75 LR (6.36 t ha1) (T7) and @ 0.50 LR (1.6 t ha-1) (T5) along with recommended dose of fertilizers in the strongly and moderately acidic soils respectively during pishanam and late pishanam seasons. The study clearly indicated that in strongly acidic soils, the application of dolomite @ 0.75 LR (6.36 t ha-1) (T7) and in moderately acidic soils, dolomite @ 0.50 LR (1.6 t ha-1) (T5) along with recommended dose of fertilizers and ZnSO4 is found to be the best for getting higher yield and higher returns per rupee invested under rice cultivation. &nbsp

Influence of Different Organic Manures on the Growth and Yield of Baby Corn

&nbsp;Field experiment was conducted at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam during Purattasipattam (September - October) of 2017 to study the Influence of different organic manures on the growth and yield of baby corn. Baby corn G 5414 was used as test variety. The field trail was laid out in randomized block design and replicated thrice. Three different organic manures were used viz., farmyard manure, poultry manure and vermicompost with or without panchagavya as foliar spray. Significantly higher values of growth parameters were registered with application of 100% N through poultry manure and higher green cob and green fodder yield was obtained with the application of 100% N through poultry manure (10920 kg ha-1 and 29797 kg ha-1 respectively) and it is superior to the rest of treatments. Application of 100% N through poultry manure + 3% Panchagavya spray at vegetative and tasseling stage recorded higher green cob and green fodder yield (10418 kg ha-1 and 28636 kg ha-1 respectively). This was followed by the application of 50% N through farmyard manure + 50% N through poultry manure + 3% Panchagavya spray at vegetative and tasseling stage and application of 50% N through farmyard manure + 50% N through poultry manure which registered higher green cob and green fodder yield (10401 kg ha-1 and 28498 kg ha-1 respectively, 10354 kg ha-1 and 28389 kg ha-1 respectively). These treatments were on par with each other. Application of 100% N through poultry manure produced significantly higher growth and yield of baby corn when compared to the rest of combinations.&nbsp