Integrated Water Resource Management in Trinidad and Tobago

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare (in an equitable manner) without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. This case study focuses on Trinidad and Tobago, a country consisting of two main islands north-east of Venezuela, between 10 and 11.5 degrees north latitude and between 60 and 62 degrees west longitude. It is the most southerly of the Lesser Antilles and experiences a tropical climate with two seasons namely, wet and dry. The major objectives of this project are: to map water quality information that is, physico-chemical and heavy metal variables for the rivers of Trinidad and Tobago; to look at land use patterns and their effects on the water quality of the rivers of Trinidad and Tobgo; to explore how the scientific information can be used to bring about IWRM in Trinidad and Tobago. The report contains the conclusions of the mapping exercise and an analysis of the stakeholders and their interactions in order to enhance the use of science and technology in finding solutions to sustainable development problems

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Sub-National Government – Lessons from the Free State Province in South Africa

A provincial computable general equilibrium model for the Free State province in South Africa is used to quantify the channels by which the recent global economic crisis affects the province. The analysis allows focus on three levels through which provincial economies and their people are impacted by a global economic crisis, namely the macro-economic level, the meso-economic level and the micro-economic/household level. The novel features of the paper are mainly applying this methodology at sub national government level. The decrease in world prices combined with the drop in world demand lead to a fall in production for most sectors in the province. There is a negative impact on institutions, and households see their incomes drop. Though the crisis seems to be petering out now, there are lessons for intergovernmental financial relations that this paper has highlighted and long run effects of the crisis that the province needs to confront.Global crisis, Computable General Equilibrium

A Study for the Development of a Handbook of Selected Caribbean Herbs for Industry

This study is intended to produce a handbook, for the growers, extension workers, and other partners in the industry. It will provide up-to-date information on twenty Caribbean herbs selected for their possible economic potential..

The role of earth observation in an integrated deprived area mapping “system” for low-to-middle income countries

Urbanization in the global South has been accompanied by the proliferation of vast informal and marginalized urban areas that lack access to essential services and infrastructure. UN-Habitat estimates that close to a billion people currently live in these deprived and informal urban settlements, generally grouped under the term of urban slums. Two major knowledge gaps undermine the efforts to monitor progress towards the corresponding sustainable development goal (i.e., SDG 11—Sustainable Cities and Communities). First, the data available for cities worldwide is patchy and insufficient to differentiate between the diversity of urban areas with respect to their access to essential services and their specific infrastructure needs. Second, existing approaches used to map deprived areas (i.e., aggregated household data, Earth observation (EO), and community-driven data collection) are mostly siloed, and, individually, they often lack transferability and scalability and fail to include the opinions of different interest groups. In particular, EO-based-deprived area mapping approaches are mostly top-down, with very little attention given to ground information and interaction with urban communities and stakeholders. Existing top-down methods should be complemented with bottom-up approaches to produce routinely updated, accurate, and timely deprived area maps. In this review, we first assess the strengths and limitations of existing deprived area mapping methods. We then propose an Integrated Deprived Area Mapping System (IDeAMapS) framework that leverages the strengths of EO- and community-based approaches. The proposed framework offers a way forward to map deprived areas globally, routinely, and with maximum accuracy to support SDG 11 monitoring and the needs of different interest groups

In vivo and ex vivo regulation of visfatin production by leptin in human and murine adipose tissue : role of mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathways

Visfatin is an adipogenic adipokine with increased levels in obesity, properties common to leptin. Thus, leptin may modulate visfatin production in adipose tissue (AT). Therefore, we investigated the effects of leptin on visfatin levels in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and human/murine AT, with or without a leptin antagonist. The potential signaling pathways and mechanisms regulating visfatin production in AT was also studied. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to assess the relative mRNA and protein expression of visfatin. ELISA was performed to measure visfatin levels in conditioned media of AT explants, and small interfering RNA technology was used to reduce leptin receptor expression. Leptin significantly (P < 0.01) increased visfatin levels in human and murine AT with a maximal response at leptin 10–9 M, returning to baseline at leptin 10–7 M. Importantly, ip leptin administration to C57BL/6 ob/ob mice further supported leptin-induced visfatin protein production in omental AT (P < 0.05). Additionally, soluble leptin receptor levels rose with concentration dependency to a maximal response at leptin 10–7 M (P < 0.01). The use of a leptin antagonist negated the induction of visfatin and soluble leptin receptor by leptin. Furthermore, leptin-induced visfatin production was significantly decreased in the presence of MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors. Also, when the leptin receptor gene was knocked down using small interfering RNA, leptin-induced visfatin expression was significantly decreased. Thus, leptin increases visfatin production in AT in vivo and ex vivo via pathways involving MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling. The pleiotropic effects of leptin may be partially mediated by visfatin

PMO implementation in trinidad and tobago engineering-service contractor firms: challenges and lessons learned

This paper explores the challenges and lessons learned in integrating a project management office (PMO) into the existing organizational structure of engineering-service contractor (ESC) companies in Trinidad and Tobago (T&amp;T). Although several T&amp;T ESCs now boast of having a robust PMO, its implementation has been a difficult and expensive endeavor for most, persuading others to forego this. This disinclination is due to the lack of available insight and guidance on PMO implementation for ESCs operating in the Caribbean. Top management personnel and departmental managers from twenty-eight ESCs who played a direct role in the PMO incorporation at their organizations were polled in a self-report study which collected quantitative data via a questionnaire. Insights on their perceived PMO value, implementation weak and strong points, integration challenges and lessons learned were gathered and analyzed. The findings confirmed concurrence amongst all participating ESCs that PMO implementation bodes well for their strategic organizational goals. The biggest implementation challenges reported were creating a project management culture and realigning the power for resource management and allocation. Smoother integration was reported amongst companies that included suitable communication channels, pre-implementation planning, and project management training for PMO personnel into the process. For the findings varied across companies, this paper illustrates numerous areas of concern common to ESCs. There is no existing research on PMO implementation in T&amp;T or Caribbean firms, and this paper provides foresight and direction for companies contemplating such endeavors

An analysis of CITES implementation in Trinidad and Tobago

111 páginas.Trabajo Fin de Máster Propio. Tutores: Dr. Yula Kapetanakos ; Mr. Mark Gibson (PhD Student). This study used expert interviewing (n=22) to provide the first comprehensive assessment on the implementation of CITES in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). T&T became a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1984. However, T&T’s government agencies tasked with implementing CITES has faced numerous obstacles when trying to manage the illegal wildlife trade, many of which need to be addressed. Expert interviewing was used to acquire the data supported; a semi-structured questionnaire was distributed among experts wholly or any part thereof in the field of flora and fauna management, protection and conservation. The results were acquired by summarizing and coding the expert personnel responses to the questions posed. This work was further supplemented with a policy gap analysis of implementation documents, the proposed T&T CITES legislation, roles and functions of the Management and Scientific Authority of T&T and an analysis of CITES traded flora and fauna. The ultimate objective of this research is to make recommendations to guide the Government of the Republic of T&T (GoRTT) so they can have a strong institutional framework for co-ordinated planning and law enforcement operations, which are prerequisites for regulated trade (Eid,2010). The results of the study indicate that there are widely-recognized needs for training in CITES, a lack of communication from the T&T CITES Management Authority to other agencies, a lack of funding to purchase tools and equipment, and a lack of development of CITES implementing legislation