Suchergebnisse

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Balbatti-3 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behaviour and use potentials of the soils in the microwartershed. The present study covers an area of 437 ha in Balbatti-3 microwatershed in Jewargi taluk of Gulbarga district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought- prone with an average annual rainfall of 751 mm, of which about 538 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 75 mm during the rest of the year. 99 per cent area is covered by soils and 1 per cent is by Habitation and waterbody. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 5 soil series and 10 soil phases (management units) and 3 Land Use Classes.  The length of crop growing period is about 150 days starting from the 1st week of June to 1st week of October.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing major agricultural and horticultural crops were assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  Entire area is suitable for agriculture.  About 83 per cent of the soils are deep to very deep (100->150 cm) and 16 per cent are very shallow to shallow (200mm/m) in available water capacity and about 16 per cent low (50-100 mm/m) and very low (0.75%) in 137 ha (31%) in organic carbon.  Major area of 73 per cent has soils that are low (337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm).  Available boron is low (4.5 ppm) in iron and 22 per cent deficient (0.6 ppm).  The land suitability for 19 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable(S1) Moderately suitable(S2) Highly suitable(S1) Moderately suitable(S2) Sorghum 363 (83) - Guava - 363 (83) Maize - - Jackfruit - - Red gram - - Jamun - 363 (83) Soybean 363 (83) - Musambi 363 (83) - Bengalgram 363 (83) 68 (16) Lime 363 (83) - Sunflower 363 (83) - Cashew - - Cotton 363 (83) - Custard apple 363 (83) - Sugarcane - - Amla 363 (83) - Mango - - Tamarind - 363 (83) Sapota - 363 (83) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 3 identified LUCs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops that helps in maintaining the ecological balance in microwatershed  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which inturn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contributes to mitigating the climate change. Baseline socioeconomic characterisation is prerequisite to prepare action plan for program implementation and to assess the project performance before making any changes in the watershed development program. The baseline provides appropriate policy direction for enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. Methodology: Balbatti-3 micro-watershed (Dummadri sub-watershed, Jewargi taluk, Gulbarga district) is located in between 16046' – 16048' North latitudes and 76034' – 76036' East longitudes, covering an area of about 437.16 ha, bounded by Balbatti, Vadagera, Sumbada, Shivapura and Hangalga (K) villages with a length of growing period (LGP) 120-150 days. We used soil resource map as basis for sampling farm households to test the hypothesis that soil quality influence crop selection, and conservation investment of farm households. The level of technology adoption and productivity gaps and livelihood patterns were analyses. The cost of soil degradation and ecosystem services were quantified. Results: The socio-economic outputs for Balbatti 3 Microwatershed (Dummadri subwatershed, Jewargi taluk, Gulbarga district) are presented here. Social Indicators;  Male and female ratio is 61.9 to 38.1 per cent to the total sample population.  Younger age 18 to 50 years group of population is around 66.7 per cent to the total population.  Literacy population is around 76.2 per cent.  Social groups belong to other backward castes (OBC) of all sample farmers.  Fire wood is the source of energy for a cooking among 90 per cent.  About 50 per cent of households have a yashaswini health card.  About 50 per cent of the sample farm households are having MGNREGA card for rural employment.  Dependence on ration cards for food grains through public distribution system of all sample households.  Swach bharath program providing closed toilet facilities around 30 per cent of sample households.  Women participation in decisions making for agriculture production among all of sample households. 2 Economic Indicators;  The average land holding is 1.4 ha indicates that majority of farm households are belong to marginal and small farmers. The total land cultivated on dry land condition among the sample farmers.  Agriculture is the main occupation among 59.5 per cent and agriculture is the main and agriculture labour is subsidiary occupation for 31 per cent of sample households.  The average value of domestic assets is around Rs. 38206 per household. Mobile and television are popular media mass communication.  The average value of farm assets value is around Rs. 8270 per household, about 20 per cent of sample farmers having plough and sprayer (50 %).  The average value of livestock is around Rs. 7500 per household; about 20.0 per cent of household are having livestock.  The average per capita food consumption is around 892.3 grams (2082.5 kilo calories) against national institute of nutrition (NIN) recommendation at 827 gram. Around 30 per cent of sample households are consuming less than the NIN recommendation.  The annual average income is around Rs. 32636 per household. About 80.0 per cent of farm households are below poverty line.  The per capita average monthly expenditure is around Rs. 1958 per household. Environmental Indicators-Ecosystem Services;  The value of ecosystem service helps to support investment to decision on soil and water conservation and in promoting sustainable land use.  The onsite cost of different soil nutrients lost due to soil erosion is around Rs.680 per ha/year. The total cost of annual soil nutrients is around Rs.293762 per year for the total area of 437.16 ha.  The average value of ecosystem service for food grains production is around Rs. 15325/ ha/year. Per hectare food grains production services is maximum in cotton (Rs. 21581) followed by red gram (Rs. 19148), and paddy (Rs. 5245).  The average value of ecosystem service for fodder production is around Rs. 9959/ ha/year of paddy.  The data on water requirement for producing one quintal of grain is considered for estimating the total value of water required for crop production. The per hectare value of water used and value of water was maximum in redgram (Rs. 61447) followed by cotton (Rs. 51622) and paddy (Rs. 33325). 3 Economic Land Evaluation;  The major cropping pattern is red gram (56.6 %) followed by cotton (39.7 %) and paddy (3.7 %).  In Balbatti 3 micro-watershed, major soils are soil of Balbatti (BBT) series is having shallow soil depth cover around 48.95 % of area. On this soil farmers are presently growing cotton (16.8 %) and redgram (83.2 %), Novinihala (NHA) soil series having shallow soil depth cover around 54.0 % of area, the crops are cotton (60.4 %) and red gram (39.6 %). Yedrami (YDM) soil series having deep soil depth cover around 34.18 % of areas, crops are cotton.  The total cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio (BCR) in study area for cotton ranges between Rs.35129 /ha in YDM soil (with BCR of 1.98) and Rs. 20615/ha in BBT soil (with BCR of 1.92).  In red gram the cost of cultivation range between Rs 27848/ha in NHA soil (with BCR of 2.08) and Rs.26102/ha in BBT soil (with BCR of 1.96).  In paddy the cost of cultivation is Rs. 38578/ha in YDM soil (with BCR of 1.39).  The land management practices reported by the farmers are crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer application and use of farm yard manure (FYM). Due to higher wages farmer are following labour saving strategies is not prating soil and water conservation measures. Less ownership of livestock limiting application of FYM.  It was observed soil quality influences on the type and intensity of land use. More fertilizer applications in deeper soil to maximize returns. Suggestions;  Involving farmers is watershed planning helps in strengthing institutional participation.  The per capita food consumption and monthly income is very low. Diversifying income generation activities from crop and livestock production in order to reduce risk related to drought and market prices.  Majority of farmers reported that they are not getting timely support/extension services from the concerned development departments.  By strengthing agricultural extension for providing timely advice improved technology there is scope to increase in net income of farm households.  By adopting recommended package of practices by following the soil test fertiliser recommendation, there is scope to increase yield in cotton (42.2 to 18.1 %), red gram (10.1 %) and paddy (66.0 %). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Balbatti-4 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification and use potentials of the soils in the microwartershed. The present study covers an area of 714 ha in Balbatti- 4 microwatershed in Jewargi taluk of Gulbarga district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought prone with an average annual rainfall of 751 mm of which about 538 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 75 mm during the rest of the year. 98 per cent area is covered by soils and 2 per cent is by Habitation and waterbody. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 7 soil series and 11 soil phases (management units) and 4 Land Use Classes.  The length of crop growing period is about 150 days starting from the 1st week of June to 1st week of October.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing major agricultural and horticultural crops were assessed and maps showing degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  90 per cent area is suitable for agriculture and 9 per cent is not suitable.  About 82 per cent of the soils are deep to very deep (100->150 cm), about less than one per cent is moderately shallow(50-75 cm) and 16 per cent are very shallow to shallow (200mm/m) in available water capacity and about 16 per cent low (50-100 mm/m) and very low (0.75%) in 6 ha (337 kg/ha) in available potassium and 12 per cent medium (145-337 kg/ha).  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm).  Available boron is low (1.0 ppm) in about 6 per cent area.  About 86 per cent area is sufficient (>4.5 ppm) in iron and 12 per cent deficient (0.6 ppm).  The land suitability for 19 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 571 (80) 19 (3) Guava - 519 (73) Maize - 7 (1) Jackfruit - - Red gram - 591 (83) Jamun - 583 (82) Soybean 507 (71) 84 (12) Musambi 571 (80) 12 (2) Bengalgram 578 (81) 63 (9) Lime 571 (80) 12 (2) Sunflower 571 (80) 12 (2) Cashew - - Cotton 571 (80) 19 (3) Custard apple 571 (80) 19 (3) Sugarcane - - Amla 571 (80) 19 (3) Mango - - Tamarind - 584 (82) Sapota - 519 (73) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 4 identified LUCs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fibre and horticulture crops that helps in maintaining the ecological balance in microwatershed  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges that are edible, economical and produce lot of biomass which helps im restoring the ecological balance and mitigate the climate change phenomenon. Baseline socioeconomic characterisation is prerequisite to prepare action plan for program implementation and to assess the project performance before making any changes in the watershed development program. The baseline provides appropriate policy direction for enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. Methodology: Balbatti 4 Microwatershed (Dummadri sub-watershed, Jewargi taluk, Gulbarga district) is located in between 16046' – 16048' North latitudes and 76032' – 76035' East longitudes, covering an area of about 714.49 ha, bounded by Balbatti, Vadagera, Sumbada, and Hangalga (K) villages with length of growing period (LGP) 120-150 days. We used soil resource map as basis for sampling farm households to test the hypothesis that soil quality influence crop selection, and conservation investment of farm households. The level of technology adoption and productivity gaps and livelihood patterns were analyses. The cost of soil degradation and ecosystem services were quantified. Results: The socio-economic outputs for Balbatti-4 Microwatershed (Dummadri subwatershed, Jewargi taluk, Gulbarga district) are presented here. Social Indicators;  Male and female ratio is 62.0 to 38.0 per cent to the total sample population.  Younger age 18 to 50 years group of population is around 64.0 per cent to the total population.  Literacy population is around 78.0 per cent.  Social groups belong to other backward caste (OBC) of all sample farmers.  Fire wood is the source of energy for a cooking among 60.0 per cent.  About 20.0 per cent of households have a yashaswini health card.  Only 30.0 per cent of sample farm households are having MGNREGA card for rural employment.  Dependence on ration cards for food grains through public distribution system is around 80.0 per cent.  Swach bharath program providing closed toilet facilities around 20.0 per cent of sample households.  Women participation in decisions making are around 10.0 per cent of households. Economic Indicators;  The average land holding is 3.2 ha indicates that majority of farm households are belong to medium and semi-medium farmers. The dry land account for 98.7 per cent of total cultivated land area among the sample farmers. 2  Agriculture is the main occupation among 36.0 per cent and agriculture is the main and agriculture labour is subsidiary occupation for 54.0 per cent of sample households.  The average value of domestic assets is around Rs. 22852 per household. Mobile and television are popular media mass communication.  The average value of farm assets is around Rs. 206583 per household, about 30.0 per cent of sample farmers having plough.  The average value of livestock is around Rs. 53888 per household; about 50.0 per cent of household are having livestock.  The average per capita food consumption is around 849.1 grams (2033.8 kilo calories) against national institute of nutrition (NIN) recommendation at 827 gram. Around 40.0 per cent of sample households are consuming less than the NIN recommendation.  The annual average income is around Rs.48156 per household. About 80.0 per cent of farm households are below poverty line.  The per capita average monthly expenditure is around Rs.1797. Environmental Indicators-Ecosystem Services;  The value of ecosystem service helps to support investment to decision on soil and water conservation and in promoting sustainable land use.  The onsite cost of different soil nutrients lost due to soil erosion is around Rs. 995 per ha/year. The total cost of annual soil nutrients is around Rs. 6999398 per year for the total area of 714.49 ha.  The average value of ecosystem service for food grain production is around Rs 19675/ha/year. Per hectare food grain production services is maximum in cotton (Rs. 30989) followed by red gram (Rs. 21364) and paddy (Rs. 6667).  The average value of ecosystem service for fodder production is around Rs. 3779/ ha/year is paddy.  The data on water requirement for producing one quintal of grain is considered for estimating the total value of water required for crop production. The per hectare value of water used and value of water was maximum in red gram (Rs.59185) followed by cotton (Rs.52852) and paddy (Rs 33058). Economic Land Evaluation;  The major cropping pattern is red gram (42.0 %) followed by cotton (38.9 %) and paddy (19.1 %).  In Balbatti 4 micro-watershed, major soils are soil of Balbatti (BBT) series is having deep soil depth cover around 31.75 % of area. On this soil farmers are presently growing red gram. Marguti (MGT) is having very shallow soil depth cover around 3.93 % of area; the crops grown are cotton (100 %). Novinihala 3 (NHA) series is having shallow soil depth cover 16.84 % of area, the crops grown are red gram (100 %) and Yedrami (YDM) series is having deep soil depth cover 40.89 % of area, the crops grown are cotton (14.6 %), paddy (21.8 %) and red gram (63.6 %).  The total cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio (BCR) in study area for cotton ranges between Rs.44136 /ha in YDM soil (with BCR of 2.38) and Rs 32414/ha in MGT soil (with BCR of 2.26).  In red gram the cost of cultivation range between Rs 36880/ha in NHA soil (with BCR of 1.83) and Rs.21756/ha in BBT soil (with BCR of 1.65).  In paddy the cost cultivation in YDM soil is Rs.45635/ha (with BCR of 1.16).  The land management practices reported by the farmers are crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer application and use of farm yard manure (FYM). Due to higher wages farmer are following labour saving strategies is not prating soil and water conservation measures. Less ownership of livestock limiting application of FYM.  It was observed soil quality influences on the type and intensity of land use. More fertilizer applications in deeper soil to maximize returns. Suggestions;  Involving farmers is watershed planning helps in strengthing institutional participation.  The per capita food consumption and monthly income is very low. Diversifying income generation activities from crop and livestock production in order to reduce risk related to drought and market prices.  Majority of farmers reported that they are not getting timely support/extension services from the concerned development departments.  By strengthing agricultural extension for providing timely advice improved technology there is scope to increase in net income of farm households.  By adopting recommended package of practices by following the soil test fertiliser recommendation, there is scope to increase yield in cotton (28.7 to 22.9 %), redgram (26.4 to 7.8 %) and paddy (66.3 %). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Kavalur East-4 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 461 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south –west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 99 per cent is covered by soils and one per cent is by water bodies. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 5 soil series and 6 soil phases (management units) and 2 Land management units.  The length of crop growing period is 150 cm).  Entire area has clayey soils at the surface.  About 76 per cent area has non-gravelly (200 mm/m) in available water capacity.  About 58 per cent area has nearly level (0-1%) lands and 42 per cent area has very gently sloping (1-3%) lands.  About 58 per cent area is slight eroded (e1) and 42 per cent area is moderately eroded (e2) lands.  Entire area has strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0) to very strongly alkaline (pH >9.0) in soil reaction.  Entire area is non saline (337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  About 45 per cent area is low (20 ppm) in available sulphur.  Available boron is low (1.0 ppm) in 3 per cent area.  Available iron is deficient (4.5 ppm) in 51 per cent area.  Available zinc is deficient (0.6 ppm) in 11 per cent area.  Available copper and manganese are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 28 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 352 (76) 108 (23) Pomegranate - 360 (78) Maize - - Guava - - Bajra - - Jackfruit - - Groundnut - - Jamun - 359 (78) Sunflower 352 (76) 8 (2) Musambi 352 (76) 8 (2) Cotton 359 (78) 100 (22) Lime 352 (76) 8 (2) Red gram 359 (78) Cashew - - Bengalgram 359 (78) 100 (22) Custard apple 359 (78) 100 (22) Chilli - - Amla - 459 (99) Tomato - - Tamarind - 360 (62) Drumstick - 360 (78) Marigold - 459 (99) Mulberry 101 (22) Chrysanthemum - 459 (99) Mango - - Jasmine - 100 (22) Sapota - - Crossandra 336 (73) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 2 identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which inturn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. Baseline socioeconomic characterisation is prerequisite to prepare action plan for program implementation and to assess the project performance before making any changes in the watershed development program. The baseline provides appropriate policy direction for enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. Methodology: Kavalur East-4 micro-watershed (Koppal taluk and district) is located in between 15016' – 15019' North latitudes and 75058' – 76001' East longitudes, covering an area of about 435.01 ha, bounded by Kavalura, Alavandi and Thalakalla villages with length of growing period (LGP) 60-90 days. We used soil resource map as basis for sampling farm households to test the hypothesis that soil quality influence crop selection, and conservation investment of farm households. The level of technology adoption and productivity gaps and livelihood patterns were analyses. The cost of soil degradation and ecosystem services were quantified. Results: The socio-economic outputs for the Kavalur East-4 micro-watershed (Koppal taluk and district) are presented here. Social Indicators;  Male and female ratio is 48.5 to 51.5 per cent to the total sample population. Majority of male population in large farmers (75.0 %) and female population (61.5%) in medium farmers.  Younger age 18 to 50 years group of population is around 66.7 per cent to the total sample population. About 100 per cent of younger comes under small farmer of size group.  Literacy population is around 90.9 per cent of sample households. The highest in semi medium farmers (92.3%) of size groups.  Social groups belong to other backward caste is around 12.5 per cent. Around 50.0 per cent of other backward caste in semi medium farmers.  Firewood is the main source of energy for cooking about 62.5per cent of sample farm households.  About 25.0 per cent of households have a yashaswini health card.  About 50 per cent of farm households are having MGNREGA card for rural employment.  Dependence on ration cards for food grains through public distribution system was among 62.5 per cent of households.  Swach bharath program providing closed toilet facilities around 50 per cent.  Around 12.1 per cent of households co-operated to in institutional participation among them majority of participating households are medium farmers. 2  Rural migration to urban centre for employment is prevalent among 25.0 per cent of sample households.  Women participation in decisions making are around 75.0 per cent of sample households. Economic Indicators;  The average land holding is 6.8 ha indicates that majority of farm households are belong to medium and small farmers. The dry land account for 48.7 % and fallow land is 51.3 % of total cultivated land of the sample farmers.  Agriculture is the main occupation is around 22.4 per cent and agriculture is the main and agriculture labour is subsidiary occupation is around 53.1 per cent of sample households.  The average value of domestic assets is around Rs. 59290 per household. Mobile and television are popular media mass communication.  The average value of farm assets is around Rs. 53578 per household; about 37.5 per cent of sample farmers are having weeder.  The average per capita food consumption is around 1951.2 kilo calories against national institute of nutrition (NIN) recommendation at 2250 kilo calories. Around 100 per cent of sample households are consuming less than the NIN recommendation.  The annual average income is around Rs. 39196 per household: All sample farm households are below poverty line.  The per capita average monthly expenditure is around Rs.1233. Environmental Indicators-Ecosystem Services;  The value of ecosystem service helps to support investment to decision on soil and water conservation and in promoting sustainable land use.  The average value of ecosystem service for food grain production is around Rs. 4843/ ha/year. Per hectare food grain production services is maximum in sunflower (Rs. 10808) followed by bengalgram (Rs. 8566), sorghum (Rs. 3504), greengram (Rs. 1922) and maize is negative return.  The average value of ecosystem service for fodder production is around Rs. 1387/ ha/year. Per hectare fodder production services is maximum in maize (Rs.1976) and sorghum (Rs. 798).  The data on water requirement for producing one quintal of grain is considered for estimating the total value of water required for crop production. The per hectare value of water used and value of water was maximum in bengalgram (Rs.36558) followed by sunflower (Rs. 31203), sorghum (Rs.19501), greengram (Rs. 16300) and maize (Rs. 15092). 3 Economic Land Evaluation;  The major cropping pattern is bengal gram (44 %) followed by greengram (26.3 %) sorghum (20.7 %), sunflower (4.9 %) and maize (4.0 %).  Kavalur East-4 Micro-watershed, major soils are soil Ravanaki (RNK) series is having shallow soil depth cover around 21.64 % of area. On this soil farmers are presently growing bengalgram. Bardur (BDR) soil series are having verydeep soil depth cover around 56.09 per cent of areas, crops are bengalgram, sorghum, sunflower, maize and green gram.  The data on cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio (BCR) in study area for bengal gram range between Rs. 15018/ha in BDR soil (with BCR of 1.47) and Rs. 12792/ha in RNK soil (with BCR of 1.29).  In green gram the cost of cultivation is Rs.9171/ha in BDR soil (with BCR of 1.22).  In maize the cost of cultivation is Rs 14169/ha in BDR soil (with BCR of 1.10).  In sunflower the cost of cultivation is Rs.17002 /ha in BDR soil (with BCR of 1.65) and sorghum cultivation is Rs 10678/ha in BDR soil (with BCR of 1.47).  The land management practices reported by the farmers are crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer application and use of farm yard manure (FYM). Due to higher wages farmer are following labour saving strategies is not prating soil and water conservation measures. Less ownership of livestock limiting application of FYM.  It was observed soil quality influences on the type and intensity of land use. More fertilizer applications in deeper soils to maximize returns. Suggestions;  Involving farmers is watershed planning helps in strengthing institutional participation.  The per capita food consumption and monthly income is very low. Diversifying income generation activities from crop and livestock production in order to reduce risk related to drought and market prices.  Majority of farmers reported that they are not getting timely support/extension services from the concerned development departments.  By strengthing agricultural extension for providing timely advice improved technology there is scope to increase in net income of farm households.  By adopting recommended package of practices by following the soil test fertiliser recommendation, there is scope to increase yield in bengal gram (41 to 63 %), green gram (61.8 %), maize (78.3 %), sorghum (66.4 %) and sunflower (13.5 %). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Tonsanhalli-2 Microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and the physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 676 ha in Chitapur taluk of Gulbarga district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 762 mm, of which about 571 mm is received during south-west monsoon, 99 mm during north-east and the remaining 92 mm during the rest of the year. Entire area of the microwatershed is covered by soils. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 2 soil series and 6 soil phases (management units) and 1 land use class.  The length of crop growing period is about 120-150 days starting from 2nd week of June to 3rd week of October.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing major agricultural and horticultural crops was assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  Entire area of the microwatershed has suitable for agriculture  Entire area of the microwatershed has soils that are deep (100-150 cm) to very deep (>150 cm).  Entire area of the microwatershed has clayey soils at the surface  All the soils of the microwatershed are gravelly (15-35%)  Entire area of the microwatershed is very high (>200 mm/m) in available water capacity.  Entire area of the microwatershed has nearly level (0-1%) to very gently sloping (1- 3% slope) lands.  An area of about 83 per cent has soils that are slightly eroded (e1) and 17 per cent moderately eroded (e2).  An area of about 76 per cent soils are moderately alkaline (pH 7.8-8.4) and 24 per cent strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0).  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils are dominantly 0.75) in organic carbon.  About 98 per cent of the area is low (57 kg/ha) in available phosphorus.  About 1 per cent of the soils are low (4.5 ppm) in 67 per cent area and deficient (0.6 ppm) in 10 per cent of soils in the microwatershed.  The land suitability for 19 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the Microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum - 676(100) Sapota - 676(100) Maize - - Jackfruit - - Redgram - 676(100) Jamun - 676(100) Sunflower - 676(100) Musambi 676(100) - Cotton - 676(100) Lime 676(100) - Sugarcane - - Cashew - - Soybean - 676(100) Custard apple 676(100) - Bengal gram - 676(100) Amla 676(100) - Guava - 676(100) Tamarind - 676(100) Mango - - Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the identified LUC by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fiber and horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in not only supplementing the income but also provide fodder and fuel, generate lot of biomass which would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also help in mitigating the climate change. Baseline socioeconomic characterisation is prerequisite to prepare action plan for program implementation and to assess the project performance before making any changes in the watershed development program. The baseline provides appropriate policy direction for enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. Methodology: Tonsanhalli-2 micro-watershed (Mulkod sub-watershed, Chitapur taluk, Gulbarga district) is located in between 17012' – 17014' North latitudes and 7705' – 7708' East longitudes, covering an area of about 676 ha, bounded by Mattimadu, Tengli, Mulkod, Mudbol and Invi villages with length of growing period (LGP) 120-150 days. We used soil resource map as basis for sampling farm households to test the hypothesis that soil quality influence crop selection, and conservation investment of farm households. The level of technology adoption and productivity gaps and livelihood patterns were analyses. The cost of soil degradation and ecosystem services were quantified. Results: The socio-economic outputs for Tonsanhalli-2 micro-watershed (Mulkod subwatershed, Chitapur taluk, Gulbarga district) are presented here. Social Indicators;  Male and female ratio is 44.0 to 56.0 per cent to the total sample population.  Younger age 18 to 50 years group of population is around 58 per cent to the total population.  Literacy population is around 86.0 per cent.  Social groups belong to other backward caste (OBC) is around 66.7 per cent.  Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is the source of energy for a cooking among 66.7 per cent.  About 22.2 per cent of households have a yashaswini health card.  Majority of farm households (85.7 %) are having MGNREGA card for rural employment.  Dependence on ration cards for food grains through public distribution system among all sample households.  Swach bharath program providing closed toilet facilities around 44.4 per cent of sample households.  Institutional participation is only 2.0 per cent of sample households.  Women participation in decisions making are around 88.9 per cent of households were found. 2 Economic Indicators;  The average land holding is 1.2 ha indicates that majority of farm households are belong to marginal and small farmers. The dry land of total cultivated land area among all the sample farmers.  Agriculture is the main occupation among 50.0 per cent and agriculture is the main and agriculture labour is subsidiary occupation for 43.75 per cent of sample households.  The average value of domestic assets is around Rs.16737 per household. Mobile and television are mass popular communication media.  The average value of farm assets is around Rs.107062 per household, about 66.7 per cent of sample farmers having plough, bullock cart and sprayer.  The average value of livestock is around Rs.31438 per household; about 57 per cent of household are having livestock.  The average per capita food consumption is around 767.1 grams (1718.7 kilo calories) against national institute of nutrition (NIN) recommendation at 827 gram. Around 77.8 per cent of sample households are consuming less than the NIN recommendation.  The annual average income is around Rs. 28573 per household. About 77.8 per cent of farm households are below poverty line.  The per capita monthly average expenditure is around Rs.1560. Environmental Indicators-Ecosystem Services;  The value of ecosystem service helps to support investment to decision on soil and water conservation and in promoting sustainable land use.  The onsite cost of different soil nutrients lost due to soil erosion is around Rs. 906 per ha/year. The total cost of annual soil nutrients is around Rs. 612754 per year for the total area of 676.39 ha.  The average value of ecosystem service for food grain production is around Rs 154532/ ha/year. Per hectare food grain production services is maximum in cotton (Rs. 41649) followed by sorghum (Rs. 19376) and redgram (Rs. 13624).  The average value of ecosystem service for fodder production is around Rs. 525/ ha/year. Per hectare fodder production services is maximum in sorghum (Rs. 525).  The data on water requirement for producing one quintal of grain is considered for estimating the total value of water required for crop production. The per hectare value of water used and value of water was maximum in redgram (Rs. 58796) followed by cotton (Rs. 58265) and sorghum (Rs. 37643). 3 Economic Land Evaluation;  The major cropping pattern is cotton (16.7 %) followed by red gram (67.6 %) and sorghum (15.7 %).  In Tonsanhalli-2 micro-watershed, major soil is Dhandothi (DDT) series is having very deep soil depth cover around 12.57 % of area. On this soil farmers are presently growing red gram (67.6 %), cotton (16.7 %) and sorghum (15.6%).  The total cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio in study area for red gram Rs.28033 /ha in DDT soil (with BCR of 1.68).  In cotton the cost of cultivation in DDT soil Rs. 23427/ha (with BCR of 2.78) and sorghum the cost of cultivation in DDT soil is Rs. 17674/ha (with BCR of 2.13).  The land management practices reported by the farmers are crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer application and use of farm yard manure (FYM). Due to higher wages farmer are following labour saving strategies is not prating soil and water conservation measures. Less ownership of livestock limiting application of FYM.  It was observed soil quality influences on the type and intensity of land use. More fertilizer applications in deeper soil to maximize returns. Suggestions;  Involving farmers is watershed planning helps in strengthing institutional participation.  The per capita food consumption and monthly income is very low. Diversifying income generation activities from crop and livestock production in order to reduce risk related to drought and market prices.  Majority of farmers reported that they are not getting timely support/extension services from the concerned development departments.  By strengthing agricultural extension for providing timely advice improved technology there is scope to increase in net income of farm households.  By adopting recommended package of practices by following the soil test fertiliser recommendation, there is scope to increase yield in sorghum (56.0 %), cotton (15.3 %) and redgram (11.5 %). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

El trabajo de investigación, se divide en tres grandes bloques. El primero lo hemos denominado, El Derecho a la Felicidad como Derecho Constitucional. El segundo lleva por título Los límites del Producto Interior Bruto. Por último, el tercero de los mismos es el relativo a Los Índices de Felicidad. En cuanto a los principales objetivos y temas de esta investigación, de igual manera podemos agruparlos también en tres, y se corresponden con cada una de las partes en los que hemos dividido este trabajo. En primer lugar, conocer si existe o ha existido a lo largo de la historia, lo que podríamos denominar como un derecho a la felicidad, y si ese derecho ha sido reconocido en los textos constitucionales de las distintas naciones. En segundo lugar, comprobar si el Producto Interior Bruto, que se ha convertido desde su creación en el principal indicador del nivel de desarrollo y de bienestar material de un país, tiene sus limitaciones y carencias, y si por tanto, es el más adecuado para medir el progreso y el bienestar de nuestras sociedades. Asimismo, conocer si diversas organizaciones internacionales y/o alguna comisión, se han pronunciado al respecto mediante resoluciones o recomendaciones, para seguidamente estudiarlas. En tercer y último lugar, comprobar si, en correspondencia con el objetivo anterior, son necesarios nuevos índices e indicadores complementarios al Producto Interior Bruto y si se han creado lo que denominaremos como "índices de felicidad" desde una perspectiva internacional, especialmente por las organizaciones internacionales más relevantes, para seguidamente analizar los mismos, junto al índice de la Felicidad Nacional Bruta de Bután, pionero a nivel nacional. Hemos empleado como principal metodología a seguir, tanto el análisis de contenido de dichos textos constitucionales, como el de las citadas recomendaciones y resoluciones de diferentes organizaciones internacionales; así como el análisis comparativo de los resultados que se han obtenido de los índices de felicidad analizados. Todo ello ha supuesto, teniendo en cuenta la complejidad del fenómeno a investigar, junto a los objetivos de la investigación, la puesta en práctica de una metodología cualitativa, mediante un amplio desarrollo normativo, y con un análisis teórico, documental y bibliográfico, realizado fundamentalmente tanto en la primera como en la segunda parte de este trabajo; junto a un tratamiento descriptivo y comparativo de los resultados obtenidos en los distintos índices de felicidad analizados, el cual se desarrolla principalmente en la tercera parte de la investigación. En la primera parte, El Derecho a la Felicidad como Derecho Constitucional, repasamos las Constituciones, además de determinadas Declaraciones, que a lo largo de la historia han reconocido ese derecho a la felicidad, o al menos el derecho a su búsqueda, en sus propios textos. En la segunda parte, Los límites del Producto Interior Bruto, comprobamos como existe una corriente a nivel internacional, con voces de gran peso, que critican la utilización del Producto Interior Bruto como única medida del progreso y desarrollo de los países, como así lo refleja la relevante Comisión para la Medición del Desempeño Económico y el Progreso Social; el Proyecto Global para la Medición del Progreso de las Sociedades, de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE); la Resolución de 2011 del Parlamento Europeo que lleva por título Más allá del PIB - Evaluación del progreso en un mundo cambiante; y la Resolución 65/309 de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas del mismo año, denominada La felicidad: hacia un enfoque holístico del desarrollo; las cuales no hacen otra cosa que incidir en la necesidad de implantar nuevos índices e indicadores que complementen al Producto Interior Bruto como medida del desarrollo y bienestar de las naciones, y en los que la felicidad debe tener un papel cada vez más transcendente. Por último, en la tercera parte, analizamos los tres índices de felicidad a nivel internacional que consideramos más relevantes en la actualidad. Se trata del Índice de Desarrollo Humano del Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), el World Happiness Report de la Sustainable Development Solutions Network de Naciones Unidas (SDSN) y el Better Life Index de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). Asimismo, procedemos a analizar un índice de felicidad a nivel nacional, la Felicidad Nacional Bruta de Bután. Respecto a las principales conclusiones alcanzadas, como aspectos generales podemos afirmar que, por extraño que pueda parecer, ya que nos encontramos ante dos conceptos de ámbitos muy diferentes, existe una relación entre Derecho y Felicidad. De hecho, el Derecho a la felicidad, al bienestar subjetivo o al menos el derecho a la búsqueda de la felicidad en alguna de su acepciones, ha sido a lo largo de la historia, y sigue siéndolo en algunos Estados, un Derecho reconocido en las Constituciones de diversas naciones, si bien es cierto que en una minoría de las mismas. Por otro lado, existen diversos factores que nos demuestran que debemos replantearnos los instrumentos actuales de medición del desarrollo y del progreso, especialmente el Producto Interior Bruto, el cual además no puede emplearse como la única medida que determine el bienestar de una nación. Por tanto, la medición del bienestar debe complementarse con diversos estudios e índices que profundicen en la felicidad como un nuevo enfoque holístico del desarrollo. Asimismo, en un plano público, y en relación con la primera de las conclusiones, si la felicidad es el objetivo último de todo Gobierno, los índices de felicidad deben de servir a los gobernantes de las naciones a orientar sus políticas hacia la misma, si lo que pretenden es que sus ciudadanos sean lo más felices posibles. Por último, llegamos a diversas conclusiones a raíz de los resultados obtenidos en los distintos índices de felicidad. The research is divided into three sections. The first one is called, The Right to Happiness as a Constitutional Right. The second one is entitled The Limits of Gross Domestic Product. Finally, the third one is related to Happiness Indices. The main objectives of this research are also three, and they correspond to each one of the sections. First, to determine whether there is or there has been throughout history, what might be called as a right to happiness, and if that right has been recognized in the Constitutions of some nation. Second, to verify if the Gross Domestic Product, which has become since its creation in the main indicator of the level of development and material welfare of a country, has its limitations and shortcomings, and if it is the best option to measure progress and welfare of our societies. Also, to find out if any international organization and/or commission, have pronounced about it with resolutions or recommendations, in order to study them. Third, and finally, to determine if new rates and additional indicators of Gross Domestic Product are needed and whether have been created what we call as "indices of happiness" from an international perspective, especially by relevant international organizations, in order to analyze them, with the Gross National Happiness of Bhutan, a pioneering nationwide. We have used as main methodology, the content analysis of these constitutional provisions, and of these recommendations and resolutions by international organizations; and the comparative analysis of the results that have been obtained with the happiness indices analyzed. All this has meant, taking into account the complexity of this investigation and its objectives, the implementation of a qualitative methodology with a comprehensive study of the policy framework, and a bibliographic and theoretical analysis, during the first and second part of this research. In the third part of the investigation has been carried out a descriptive and comparative analysis of the results obtained in the different happiness indices studied. In the first section, The Right to Happiness as a Constitutional Right, we reviewed the Constitutions and certain statements, which have recognized the right to happiness, or at least the right to the pursuit of happiness. In the second section, The Limits of Gross Domestic Product, we confirm that there is a current and international movement, that criticizes the use of Gross Domestic Product as the only one measure of progress and development of countries, such as have been indicated by the relevant Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress; the Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies, of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the Resolution in 2011 of the European Parliament entitled Beyond GDP - Measuring progress in a changing world; and the Resolution 65/309 of the United Nations General Assembly the same year, called Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development. All of them believe in the need to introduce new indexes and indicators to complement Gross Domestic Product as a measure of development and welfare of nations, and that happiness should play an important role. Finally, in the third section, we analyze the three indices of happiness at international level that we consider most relevant today. These are the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Happiness Report of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network United Nations (SDSN) and the Better Life Index of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Also, we proceed to analyze a happiness nationwide index, the Gross National Happiness of Bhutan. Regarding the main conclusions, we can say that, despite of the fact that they are two very different concepts, we can find a relationship between Law and Happiness. In fact, the right to happiness, to subjective well-being or at least the right to pursuit of the happiness, has been throughout the ages, and still is in some States, a right recognized in the Constitutions of different countries, although it is true that they are a minority. On the other hand, there are several factors that show us that we need to rethink about current measurement instruments of development and progress, especially the Gross Domestic Product, which cannot be used as the only one measure in order to determine the well-being of a nation. Therefore, the measurement of welfare should be complemented by different studies and indexes related to happiness as a new holistic approach to development. Also, in a public level and in relation to the first conclusion, if happiness is the last goal of any government, happiness indices should help the rulers of nations in order to direct their policies towards the happiness, if what they want is that their citizens were as happy as possible. Finally, we have reached different conclusions related to the results of the indices of happiness analyzed.

La fiebre hemorrágica del Ébola se trata de una terrible y fulminante enfermedad que ha despertado alarma entre la comunidad médica desde su identificación en el occidente de la actual República Democrática del Congo en 1976. Probablemente adquirida por el contacto con excremento o secreciones de murciélagos de la fruta o de monos, episódicamente se fueron dando brotes en el África Central, pero los mismos jamás se habían extendido a más de unas pocas decenas de pacientes. ¿La causa? Fundamentalmente la mortalidad generada por el virus (en ocasiones de un 90%), su rapidez para matar y el que se diera en zonas rurales, aisladas e incomunicadas.En otras palabras, el ebola virus era demasiado letal para su propio bien, y al acabar con una comunidad pequeña, desaparecía al no contar con más pacientes que atacar. Esto no impidió que la terrible enfermedad fuera centro de atención de médicos y la población en general (dando lugar a su estudio metódico y tratada en libros y películas apocalíptico/as). En todo caso, nadie esperaba que la realidad terminara superando a la ficción.Todos los años la publicación Foreign Policy presenta su estudio en cuanto a la existencia de "Estados Fallidos", noción manejada a lo largo del tiempo por varios pensadores, desde la escrupulosa conceptualización de Max Weber al neoconservadurismo ramplón de Francis Fukuyama. Por supuesto, dicho índice toma en cuenta una serie de indicadores que trascienden lo político y se extienden a lo económico y social, mas enfoquémonos en los dos conceptos básicos que engloban al conjunto y se retroalimentan entre sí: (a) la imposibilidad de un Estado de ejercer el monopolio de la violencia legítima en todo su territorio o parte de él; (b) la incapacidad de recibir, procesar y dar respuesta a las demandas internas y externas a través de su sistema político y su burocracia, generando un quiebre entre el gobierno y una población que no ve satisfechas sus necesidades más básicas. La inexistencia de una infraestructura sanitaria es un claro síntoma de ello: en estos días contemplamos las consecuencias.Era de esperar que la mayoría de las naciones del África Subsahariana encabecen el mencionado ranking y entre los primeros lugares encontramos a Guinea, Liberia y Sierra Leona, vecinos que al día de hoy son los países más afectados por el cruento e imprevisto estallido del virus del Ébola que muestra, por lo terrible, la potencial destrucción del Estado. Podría decirse que se ha tirado una cerilla encendida en un balde de gasolina.Por una cruel ironía del destino, los Estados establecidos alrededor de Monrovia y Freetown, que en su momento sirvieran de santuario para esclavos libertos de EE.UU. y el Reino Unido, tan solo lograron con esto la imposición de unas élites occidentalizadas y detentadoras del poder por sobre los nativos. Sumemos a esto la complejidad étnico-tribal de los moradores de antaño y el interés de las multinacionales por las riquezas naturales (diamantes, caucho, hierro), y como resultado alcanzamos un estado de tensión permanente que incluso se tradujo en una guerra civil presente en los dos países, finalizada con el retorno de una frágil "democracia" en los últimos años.Fue un breve alivio: a finales del 2013 (según las últimas investigaciones), en el sureste de la vecina Guinea (con su propia historia de violencia e inestabilidad), estallaría un brote de Ébola que, una vez traspasadas las fronteras, destruiría todo orden político y social de manera fulminante. La tierra prometida de la libertad terminaría en caos y muerte: si había un área donde la plaga podía desplegar toda su fuerza, sin dudas era esta.Si bien Guinea se encuentra a varios miles de kilómetros de los anteriores focos del virus, la aparición del mismo es razonable por un factor elemental: la presencia de los ya mencionados murciélagos de la fruta, vectores de la enfermedad, y el contacto y consumo de los nativos con/de dicha especie. Evidentemente no todos los murciélagos son portadores transmisores del ebola virus, pero basta con un contagio para desatar la peste de forma exponencial: primero un individuo, siguiendo la familia, luego la comunidad…El inicio de la epidemia data de diciembre de 2013, según las investigaciones posteriores con tal de dar con el origen del brote. Éste se habría dado en una pequeña localidad guineana cercana a la triple frontera y es aquí donde encontramos los primeros –y tal vez entendibles- errores humanos en la detección del virus: en un principio se pensó en el cólera o la malaria, y más tarde –dado el carácter hemorrágico- en el virus de Lassa. En marzo del presente año, ya con la presencia de Médicos sin Fronteras (MSF) y la Cruz Roja en el área, el gobierno guineano y luego la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) dan la inesperada noticia de que se trataba de Ébola. La tardanza en el diagnóstico es un elemento fundamental para entender la multiplicación de casos en áreas cada vez más lejanas. Las comunicaciones, la densidad de población y -paradójicamente- la presencia de trabajadores de la salud (quienes, confundidos, se transformaron en portadores sin saberlo), explican el resto.Se equivoca nuevamente la OMS en abril, al considerar –tal vez extrapolando de la experiencia en el Congo- que se había llegado al "pico" de casos y que el brote comenzaría a remitir. Esto no sucedió y pronto ocurrió el peor de los escenarios posibles, con el Ébola alcanzando progresivamente las grandes capitales: Conakry (2 millones), Monrovia (1,2 millones) y Freetown (1 millón). Aquel virus que en su historia sólo había atacado a aldeas, de repente había llegado al hacinamiento de las grandes urbanizaciones.Como dijimos, Guinea, Sierra Leona y Liberia pertenecen al grupo de Estados Fallidos. ¿Qué podían hacer los gobiernos para controlar la situación? Evidentemente muy poco. Para hacernos una idea, recurramos a los datos:- Guinea: 0,1 médicos y 0,3 camas de hospital por cada mil habitantes.- Liberia: 0,01 médicos y 0,8 camas cada mil habitantes.- Sierra Leona: 0,02 médicos y 0,4 camas cada mil habitantes.Sobra decir que las condiciones hospitalarias no son, precisamente, las adecuadas, como tampoco lo es la calidad de vida en cuanto a necesidades sanitarias como acceso al agua potable o al saneamiento.La cosa empeora aún más cuando tenemos en cuenta que los médicos y los enfermeros, al carecer de medios para una correcta protección, se convierten en portadores y luego víctimas de la enfermedad, y existen testimonios que los pacientes son depositados en los hospitales esperando por alguien que los atienda, algo que ocurre con suerte una vez por día. Los más afortunados reciben un balde para depositar los vómitos y las heces y un poco de suero para mitigar la deshidratación. Mientras tanto, pacientes con otras enfermedades como la Malaria o personas víctimas de accidentes no encuentran auxilio alguno.La ayuda internacional, fundamentalmente de MSF y la propia OMS ha levantado hospitales de campaña que más parecen campos de concentración, y con la misma escasez de recursos. En todo caso la población considera que esto es mejor que nada, y los moribundos suelen apilarse en las entradas a estos lugares.En estos últimos días, MSF y el gobierno de Sierra Leona, aún a la espera de una ayuda internacional que ya se hace tardía, tiraron la toalla y decidieron promover el tratamiento en casa. Para el mismo, se pide que los enfermos queden recluidos en una habitación y se entregan guantes, cloro y suero para que un familiar pueda intentar mantenerlos con vida.La prevención es otro problema y la ignorancia de la población sólo sirve para propagar el caos. Los gobiernos han tomado medidas tan extremas como prohibir cualquier aglomeración pública (escuelas, eventos o incluso salir a la calle). También tanto en Monrovia como en Freetown se "cerraron" barrios enteros con el poco personal militar disponible, pero las protestas y la violencia hicieron a las autoridades desistir de tal extremo.Mientras tanto, se ha querido concientizar a una población completamente confundida en el caos sobre la existencia del mal (con campañas repitiendo el eslogan "Ebola is real" a través de canciones, radio y televisión), pero aún queda gente sumida en la mayor de las desinformaciones, principalmente en las zonas rurales. Uno de los mayores problemas es el de los entierros, donde la tradición marca que se debe lavar y vestir al cadáver previo a depositar el cuerpo, lo que garantiza un contagio automático. Poco a poco esta práctica se va dejando, dando lugar a la existencia de enterradores recorriendo las calles en busca de cuerpos como en los peores años de la peste negra.La ignorancia también genera sorpresivos dramas dentro del drama, y no pocos creen que la enfermedad es propagada por los funcionarios de la salud. En un caso extremo, ocho voluntarios para luchar contra la enfermedad fueron linchados y enterrados en una fosa común en Guinea. Mientras tanto, en Liberia los empleados sanitarios se declararon en huelga para solicitar mayores salarios y mejores equipos de contención, lo mismo que hicieron los "enterradores" de Sierra Leona la semana pasada.Mirando el futuro, el escenario es sombrío. La OMS declara que se esperan diez mil casos nuevos por semana (sin contar Guinea) hasta diciembre y, a partir de entonces, un progresivo descenso de contagios. En palabras textuales: "la más severa crisis sanitaria de la época moderna". Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades(CDC) estadounidenses son aún menos optimistas, y consideran que la cifra de afectados puede alcanzar hasta un millón y medio a comienzos del 2015.Esto dependerá exclusivamente de la ayuda internacional: qué, cuánta y cómo. Hasta ahora la misma ha sido insuficiente y tardía, pero finalmente parece que el mundo ha tomado conciencia de las dimensiones de la tragedia.La primera organización en reaccionar fue MSF, que actualmente cuenta con ocho centros de tratamiento y dos centenas de voluntarios internacionales, una cifra muy estimable teniendo en cuenta que los mismos saben que cualquier error puede conducirlos a una muerte segura. Un gesto parecido es el de Cuba, que se ha comprometido a enviar 300 médicos en las próximas semanas. Veremos. Mientras tanto, países como EE.UU. y el Reino Unido se han comprometido a enviar militares para poder montar nuevos centros de tratamiento.La gran mayoría de la ayuda, sin embargo, es económica, con varios países, ONGs y organizaciones internacionales donando dinero que se espera sea canalizado por la OMS para invertirlo de la manera más eficiente y necesaria. Es en este sentido que la ONU ha propuesto el "plan 60-70-70": 60 días, 70% de pacientes tratados, 70% de entierros realizados de la forma adecuada. Es de esta manera que se pretende alcanzar el mejor escenario dentro de lo que se viene. Las vacunas y tratamientos experimentales también han sido autorizados por la OMS en una estrategia de "nada que perder". Habrá que esperar unos meses para saber si todo este esfuerzo será suficiente para que los Estados Fallidos no pasen directamente a desaparecer.Marcos Rodríguez Schiavone es estudiante de la Licenciatura en Estudios InternacionalesFACS-ORT-Uruguay

En 1989 John Williamson utilizó por primera vez la expresión "Consenso de Washington" para referirse a una serie de pautas que el modelo económico occidental (los Estados Unidos, el FMI, el Banco Mundial) proponía como receta para el desarrollo. Se trataba de 10 principios asociados al liberalismo económico: disciplina presupuestaria, reorientación del gasto público (de subsidios ineficientes e indiscriminados a inversiones productivas en enseñanza, salud e infraestructura), reforma fiscal, liberalización financiera, tipo de cambio competitivo, apertura comercial, liberalización de la inversión extranjera directa, privatización de empresas públicas, desregulación (principalmente eliminación de trabas no arancelarias), y seguridad jurídica para los derechos de propiedad intelectual.Los países en vías de desarrollo han interpretado en algunas ocasiones tales principios como una nueva forma de dominación de los países desarrollados. En parte debido a que las grandes instituciones del orden internacional han exigido a los países del sur aplicar políticas económicas guiadas por estas pautas y los resultados, en muchos casos, no han sido los esperados.En cambio, quien sí ha obtenido resultados impresionantes con sus lineamientos económicos ha sido China. Desde finales de la década de los 70, cuando su economía comenzó el proceso de reforma, y mucho más intensamente en la última década, su espectacular crecimiento ha logrado que el resto del mundo se detenga a intentar comprender y analizar los aciertos y errores de su modelo de desarrollo. Su evolución económica, manteniendo un crecimiento de dos cifras por un período tan prolongado (algo inimaginable por estos tiempos en las economías occidentales), combinado con una política exterior por momentos desafiante y desconcertante, lleva a los analistas internacionales a observar con atención su estrategia de crecimiento y a examinar los motivos por los cuales, en varias ocasiones, China no suele aceptar las reglas del orden internacional creado por las potencias occidentales –principalmente, Estados Unidos. En el año 2004, Joshua Cooper Ramo popularizó el término "Consenso de Beijing" (en contraste con el "Consenso de Washington") procurando explicar el modelo chino de desarrollo. La comparación entre los resultados de ambos casos ha provocado en el análisis internacional la siguiente interrogante: "¿Es el Consenso de Beijing una alternativa viable para los países en vías de desarrollo?" Este cuestionamiento ha cobrado especial relevancia a partir de la última gran crisis económica internacional que impactó profundamente en las principales economías mundiales.Para poder responder esta pregunta es necesario entender cuáles son los conceptos que están por detrás del Consenso de Beijing y que han permitido, en última instancia, que China se convierta en la segunda economía más grande del mundo.Si bien el Consenso de Beijing no tiene pautas específicas como el Consenso de Washington, existen ciertas características que los analistas destacan como diferenciales del modelo chino de desarrollo.En primer lugar, se destaca la innovación y la experimentación constante. Según Andrés Oppenheimer: "Deng Xiaoping diría que no importa el color del gato, sino que atrape ratones: esa frase es la que te repiten los chinos cada dos minutos, y es de un pragmatismo absoluto" (1). Sin lugar a dudas, es este pragmatismo y capacidad de adaptarse a las situaciones lo que ha permitido que hoy China siga teniendo un régimen comunista de partido único, y a la vez sea el paraíso de las grandes empresas multinacionales. En este sentido, se puede destacar el modo en que China ha gestionado la última crisis mundial reestructurando parte de su economía, potenciando sectores tecnológicamente avanzados, de forma que la economía se mueva hacia segmentos de valor añadido en la cadena productiva.Otra característica muy importante es la autodeterminación: el gigante asiático ha logrado conjugar su nuevo protagonismo internacional con una constante independencia en todos los órdenes del funcionamiento del orden global. A diferencia de lo que sucedía en el pasado con los países en vías de desarrollo, China se ha parado ante el mundo como un actor preparado para participar en las discusiones de igual a igual, sin acatar las órdenes de ningún otro estado y poniendo sus intereses en primer plano.Sin embargo, esta característica ha dado lugar a ciertos reparos del resto de los principales actores del orden internacional ya que por momentos la actitud de China parece desconcertarlos. Un claro ejemplo de este tipo de escenario es la inserción china en el continente africano. Desde el comienzo de la última década, África ha tenido para China una importancia estratégica y económica fundamental (facilitándole ayuda económica, asistencia financiera y militar). Esta estrategia en el manejo de su política exterior desafía las expectativas occidentales de un continente africano gobernado por Estados de Derecho, democracias basadas en el respeto a los derechos humanos, y una estrategia económica de libre mercado. Estados Unidos se encuentra entonces con un poder que no lo enfrenta directamente sino que lo eclipsa; legitima y asiste sin condiciones ni exigencias a regímenes autoritarios africanos lo que hace que la influencia o ayuda que pueda ofrecer Estados Unidos o Europa hacia esa región (fuente de recursos y energía) no despierte interés.Esta situación, no sólo se ve favorecida por la crisis internacional sino que además para Occidente se hace difícil promocionar un proceso de democratización a escala global que se encuentra, luego de esta última década, bastante deslucido: las guerras en Irak o Afganistán en buena medida se han llevado a cabo en nombre de la democracia. China por su parte alega que está jugando con unas reglas que no creó, realizadas en otro tiempo y para otra estructura de poder mundial. Mejorar la sociedad era uno de los objetivos de los países en desarrollo hasta que en los años noventa fue dejado de lado por el Consenso de Washington; el Consenso de Beijing lo toma como uno de sus principios fundamentales. Esta sería la única manera de evitar el caos en una sociedad tan compleja que está viviendo un crecimiento tan vertiginoso. En contraste, muchos países de Latinoamérica que durante fines del siglo XX también aumentaron su PBI, agrandaron la brecha social. Hace un tiempo las tapas del People's Daily solían mostrar a los líderes locales inaugurando grandes y ostentosas obras. En cambio, hoy en día es normal ver a esos mismos líderes reclamando ayuda para algún área rural pobre: las autoridades Chinas saben que mejorar el nivel de vida de sus gobernados es esencial para que la situación no se vaya de las manos. China tiene una historia milenaria y conoce a la perfección las consecuencias nefastas que un levantamiento popular puede tener para las autoridades.Ahora bien, el Consenso de Beijing no puede ser comparado con el Consenso de Washington como diseños del mismo tipo. Mientras que el segundo presenta diez principios puntuales que pueden ser adoptados o no por las autoridades, la principal característica del Consenso de Beijing es justamente la falta de reglas cerradas. Indudablemente, las pautas que propone pueden ser de utilidad para los países en vías de desarrollo, pero no pueden ser equiparadas, analíticamente, a los postulados del Consenso de Washington.Creemos que la pregunta más relevante que cabe preguntarse a partir del análisis del modelo es, ¿se convirtió China en un modelo relativamente maduro para aplicar en otro país? Si hay una lección que dejó el Consenso de Washington, es que no hay ningún modelo de desarrollo universalmente aplicable, pues los países tienen diferentes situaciones económicas y sociales y es imposible crear un modelo que de antemano que pueda asegurar su éxito. China tiene una serie de particularidades que serían imposibles de reproducir y que son base de su modelo: población, territorio, e historia milenaria. Asimismo, China cuenta con la ventaja de ser un miembro permanente del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU y de contar con un sexto de la población mundial, lo que le permite defender sus intereses con más poder que el resto de los países subdesarrollados.Cuando comenzó su proceso de apertura económica, se pensaba que el modelo era imposible de mantener sin cambios a largo plazo. No se podría avanzar por un proceso de reformas económicas, decían los analistas, sin avanzar por un proceso de cambios políticos. Hasta hoy los fundamentos del sistema político no han cambiado, por lo que hay analistas que cuestionan hasta que punto podrá continuar la prosperidad mientras se censuran y controlan los medios de comunicación y continúa el monopolio del poder político. Thomas Friedman, en su análisis acerca del mensaje que se había enviado hacia Beijing con el otorgamiento del premio Nobel de la Paz (obtenido por Liu Xiaobo) comenta que sin libertad los individuos no pueden desarrollar su potencial total y, en sí misma, la libertad es un ingrediente esencial para el progreso de la sociedad.La historia enseña que una vez que los hombres asimilan la libertad, ya sea económica o política, procuran obtenerla en todos los ámbitos de la vida. El régimen por lo tanto deberá estar preparado para enfrentar la posibilidad de que su población más tarde o más temprano, comprenda el verdadero valor de la libertad y exija la flexibilización del actual régimen político. Sin dudas, de ocurrir, este será éste uno de los principales desafíos que le toque enfrentar en los próximos tiempos al gobierno chino. *Estudiantes de la Licenciatura en Estudios InternacionalesUniversidad ORT-FACS Bibliografía recomendada sobre el "Consenso de Beijing":-BUSTELO, Pablo. Desarrollo económico: del Consenso al Post-Consenso de Washington y más allá. En: Universidad Complutense de Madrid [on line] 2003.Disponible en internet: -CHIN, Gregory & RAMESH Thakur. Will China Change the rules of Global Order. En: The Washington Quarterly [on line] October 2010.Disponible en internet: -COHEN, Roger. Democracy still matters. En: The New York Times [on line] 20/09/10.Disponible en internet: -COOPER RAMO, Joshua. 2004. The Beijing Consensus. En: The Foreign Policy Centre [on line] 05/11/04.Disponible en internet: - ECONOMIST DEBATES. China model. En: The Economist [on line] 04/08/10.Disponible en internet: http://www.economist.com/debate/overview/179- FANJUL, Enrique. El Consenso de Pekín: ¿un nuevo modelo para los países en desarrollo? En: Real Instituto Elcano [ on line] 31/07/09. Disponible en internet: -FRIEDMAN, Thomas. Going long liberty in China. En: The New York Times [on line] 16/10/10. Disponible en internet: -HALPER, Stefan. 2010. The Beijing Consensus. Perseus Books Group: Basic Books.- KALETSKY, Anatole. We need a new capitalism to take on China .En: The Times [on line] 04/02/10.Disponible en internet: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article7014090.ece>- KALETSKY, Anatole. Blaming China won´t help the economy. En: The New York Times [on line] 26/09/10.Disponible en internet: -KRUGMAN, Paul. Chinese New Year. En: The New York Times [on line] 31/12/09.Disponible en internet: -LIU, Henry C.K. In currency struggle, China is victim, not offender. En: Global Times [on line] 06/01/10.Disponible en internet: (1) Letras Libres, Entrevista con Andrés Oppenheimer, Enero de 2006. Disponible online: http://letraslibres.com/pdf/10866.pdf

In Germany, secondary school students differ greatly in their science achievement, a dispersion that is far above the OECD average (Schiepe-Tiska, Rönnebeck, & Neumann, 2019). Immigrant students tend to be at the lower end of the scale in Germany – on average, they achieve substantially less well in science than non-immigrant students (OECD, 2016d), which is partially due to the German school system (Zoido, 2013). These differences in achievement translate into underrepresentation of immigrants in science-related jobs in Germany (OECD, 2008). Achievement and career choices are closely intertwined with academic self-concept (for an overview see Marsh & Craven, 2006). Regarding science self-concept, the pattern that immigrant students tend to score lower is present in many countries (e.g. Riegle-Crumb, Moore, & Ramos-Wada, 2011). The goal of the present research project was to investigate these inequalities between immigrant and non-immigrant secondary school students. This was done focusing on secondary school students' chemistry self-concepts. Chemistry self-concepts were focused on because achievement in chemistry is an important factor for careers in natural sciences (Cohen & Kelly, 2019). Research on chemistry self-concept has concentrated on young adults (e.g. Bauer, 2005; Xu & Lewis, 2011) and so little is known about secondary school students. Besides the impact of students' migration background, the research project analyses the role that gender plays because gender has important effects on science self-concepts (e.g. Jurik, Gröschner, & Seidel, 2013; Riegle-Crumb et al., 2011; Wan & Lee, 2017). A big challenge in this context was that the prevailing methods in academic self-concept research are prone to yield biased data (Byrne, 2002; Byrne et al., 2009). Although this was pointed out more than 15 years ago, the problem persists in science self-concept research. The present research project addresses this issue and presents a new mixed methods approach to culture-sensitive academic self-concept research. The term 'culture' is used in the sense of migration background, a concept that categorizes people's migration histories in Germany. A combination of qualitative interview data and quantitative data permit an investigation of certain types of bias defined by Byrne and colleagues (2009). The pilot study operated with a chemistry self-concept questionnaire (N=116) and qualitative interviews (N=43). The main study was based on an extended questionnaire comprising several other scales (N=585) and deeper qualitative interviews (N=48). The hypotheses based on the literature were that in Germany, (h1) immigrant students would show more negative chemistry self-concepts than non-immigrant students. (h2) Female students would show more negative chemistry self-concepts than male students. The third hypothesis (h3) was that the home environment has an important impact on students' chemistry self-concepts. The first two hypotheses (h1 and h2) were not confirmed. Gender and migration background did not show a significant effect on students' chemistry self-concepts. Instead, gender relations differ depending on the students' migration background. Among students without a migration background, boys tend to have stronger chemistry self-concepts than girls. In contrast, among students with a Turkish migration background, girls tend to have stronger chemistry self-concepts. Existing science self-concept literature did not explain this. Literature on gender relations in science in Turkey suggests that this interaction effect could be due to a more gender-neutral conception of science in Turkey. Slightly more women than men work in science in Turkey (OECD, 2009a) and girls achieve substantially better (Batyra, 2017a, 2017b). According to the third hypothesis (h3), the gender conceptions in Turkey could potentially be transmitted to students with a Turkish migration background in the home environment, through their parents or other people. Science education literature did not provide a satisfying model for conceptualizing the influence of the home environment on students in the field of chemistry that would allow investigating the third hypothesis (h3). Therefore, the concept of chemistry capital was introduced based on the analysis of the interviews in the main study. Chemistry capital was developed based on the concept of science capital by Archer and colleagues (2015). Chemistry capital conceptualizes the resources a person possesses that have value in the field of chemistry. This encompasses social networks (e.g. knowing a chemist) as well as emotional and cognitive resources (e.g. attitudes towards chemistry and chemistry knowledge), and the engagement in chemistry-related activities. In particular, the concept allows analyzing the transmission processes of chemistry from the home environment to the individual student. The qualitative analyses in the main study showed that the chemistry capital home environment influences the students in the field of chemistry in multiple ways. This supports hypothesis 3 (h3). Further, the data suggest that structural inequalities in the German school system might foster differences in chemistry. Students who already possess little chemistry capital in their home environments are in addition found more often at the type of school (Hauptschule) in which the proportion of chemistry teachers who do not hold a university degree in chemistry is the highest, depriving these students of another possible source of chemistry capital. Vice versa, students who already possess a lot of chemistry capital in their home environments more often attend school types (Gymnasium, Realschule) where also more formally qualified chemistry teachers are available, thus potentially widening the gap. The mixed methods analysis in the main study suggested that a simple linear relationship between student chemistry self-concept and chemistry capital in the home environment does not exist. A study based on quantitative (or mixed methods) analyses of data of a larger sample on chemistry capital in the home environment and students' chemistry self-concepts could provide further insights. It is not yet clear if the third hypothesis (h3) is true. To sum up, the present research project thus advances the field of chemistry education in three regards: (i) it provides an approach to culture-sensitive academic self-concept. This approach proved to increase both the validity and the explanatory power of chemistry self-concept research. It is not chemistry-specific and can, thus, be used in other areas of research as well. (ii) The research discovered an interaction effect of gender and migration background on chemistry self-concept that was unknown in science education literature. (iii) It introduces and defines the concept of chemistry capital which permits to analyze chemistry education from a sociocultural perspective. Employing the concept of chemistry capital helps to shift the focus from the individual student to the resources a student possesses in the sociocultural context that help him or her succeed in the field of chemistry. This allows uncovering social inequalities in the field that need to be addressed in educational policy. Moreover, it can inspire intervention studies and application-focused research (e.g. approaches to culture-sensitive chemistry teaching). ; Schülerinnen und Schüler in Deutschland unterscheiden sich immens in ihren Leistungen in den Naturwissenschaften, eine deutlich breitere Streuung als im OECD-Mittel (Schiepe-Tiska et al., 2019). Schülerinnen und Schüler mit Migrationshintergrund befinden sich in Deutschland tendenziell am unteren Ende der Leistungsskala – im Durchschnitt zeigen sie erheblich schlechtere Leistungen in den Naturwissenschaften als Schülerinnen und Schüler ohne Migrationshintergrund (OECD, 2016d). Dies scheint zu einem Teil dem deutschen Schulsystem geschuldet (Zoido, 2013). Diese Leistungsunterschiede in den Naturwissenschaften schlagen sich auf dem Arbeitsmarkt nieder: In Deutschland sind Personen mit Migrationshintergrund in naturwissenschaftsnahen Berufen unterrepräsentiert (OECD, 2008). Leistungen und Berufswahl sind eng mit akademischen Selbstkonzepten verwoben (for an overview see Marsh & Craven, 2006). Und auch hier zeigt sich, dass Schülerinnen und Schüler mit Migrationshintergrund in vielen Ländern schwächere naturwissenschaftliche Selbstkonzepte haben (e.g. Riegle-Crumb et al., 2011). Ziel des vorliegenden Forschungsprojekts war es, diese Ungleichheiten zwischen Schülerinnen und Schülern der Sekundarstufe zu untersuchen. Hierzu wurden ihre Selbstkonzepte analysiert, mit besonderem Fokus auf den Aspekt des Migrationshintergrunds. Genauer gesagt wurden Chemie-Selbstkonzepte untersucht, da Leistungen in diesem Fach eine Gatekeeper-Funktion für naturwissenschaftliche Karrieren besitzen (Cohen & Kelly, 2019). Die Forschung über Chemie-Selbstkonzepte hat sich in der Vergangenheit auf junge Erwachsene beschränkt (e.g. Bauer, 2005; Xu & Lewis, 2011), weshalb wenig über die Chemie-Selbstkonzepte von Schülerinnen und Schülern der Sekundarstufe bekannt ist. Neben dem Migrationshintergrund wird auch Gender als Variable betrachtet, da Gender bedeutenden Einfluss auf naturwissenschaftliche Selbstkonzepte ausübt (e.g. Jurik et al., 2013; Riegle-Crumb et al., 2011; Wan & Lee, 2017). In diesem Kontext stellte sich die große Herausforderung, dass die vorherrschenden Methoden in der Forschung zu akademischen Selbstkonzepte möglicherweise verzerrte Daten liefern (Byrne, 2002; Byrne et al., 2009). Obwohl diese Problematik schon vor über 15 Jahren thematisiert wurde, besteht es in der naturwissenschaftlichen Selbstkonzeptforschung bis heute fort. Das vorliegende Forschungsprojekt befasst sich mit diesem Problem und legt einen neuen Forschungsansatz für kultursensible akademische Selbstkonzeptforschung im Mixed-Methods-Design vor. Der Begriff der 'Kultur' wird hier im Sinne des Migrationshintergrunds genutzt, ein Konzept, mit dem sich die Migrationsgeschichten der Menschen in Deutschland kategorisieren lassen. Die Kombination aus qualitativen Interviewdaten und quantitativen Daten ermöglicht es, einige der Arten von Verzerrungen zu detektieren, die von Byrne und Kollegen (2009) definiert wurden. In der Pilotstudie wurden Daten mittels eines Fragebogens zum Chemie-Selbstkonzept (N=116) sowie qualitativer Interviews erhoben (N=43). Die Hauptstudie basiert auf Fragebogen (N=585), der einige weitere Skalen umfasst, sowie qualitativen Interviews (N=48). Aus der Literatur wurden folgende Hypothesen abgeleitet: (h1) Schülerinnen und Schüler mit Migrationshintergrund zeigen vermutlich schwächere Chemie-Selbstkonzepte als solche ohne Migrationshintergrund. (h2) Weibliche Schülerinnen zeigen vermutlich schwächere Chemie-Selbstkonzepte als männliche Schüler. (h3) Das häusliche Umfeld übt vermutlich einen bedeutenden Einfluss auf die Chemie-Selbstkonzepte der Schülerinnen und Schüler aus. Die ersten beiden Hypothesen (h1 und h2) bestätigten sich nicht. Gender und Migrationshintergrund zeigten keine signifikanten Effekte auf die Chemie-Selbstkonzepte der Schülerinnen und Schüler. Stattdessen zeigte sich, dass die Geschlechterverhältnisse von den Migrationshintergründen der Schülerinnen und Schüler abhängen. Bei den Schülerinnen und Schülern ohne Migrationshintergrund haben Jungen tendenziell stärkere Chemie-Selbstkonzepte als Mädchen. Im Gegensatz hierzu zeigen bei den Schülerinnen und Schülern mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund die Mädchen tendenziell stärkere Chemie-Selbstkonzepte als die Jungen. Die bestehende Forschung zu naturwissenschaftlichen Selbstkonzepten vermochte diese Befunde nicht zu erklären. Literatur über die Geschlechterverhältnisse in den Naturwissenschaften in der Türkei legt die Vermutung nahe, dass dieser Interaktionseffekt auf einem stärker genderneutralen Konzept der Naturwissenschaften in der Türkei beruhen könnte. In der Türkei arbeiten etwas mehr Frauen als Männer in naturwissenschaftlichen Berufen (OECD, 2009a) und Mädchen zeigen deutlich bessere Leistungen in Naturwissenschaften (Batyra, 2017a, 2017b). Nach der dritten Hypothese (h3) könnten diese Gender-Konzepte möglicherweise durch das häusliche Umfeld, also durch Eltern oder andere wichtige Bezugspersonen an die Schülerinnen und Schüler mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund weitergetragen werden. Die naturwissenschaftsdidaktische Literatur hielt kein zufriedenstellendes Modell bereit zur Konzeptualisierung des Einflusses des häuslichen Umfelds auf die Schülerinnen und Schüler im Feld der Chemie und somit zur Untersuchung der dritten Hypothese (h3). Aus diesem Grund wurde im vorliegenden Forschungsprojekt das Konzept des chemistry capital entwickelt und in die Forschungsliteratur eingeführt. Chemistry capital basiert auf der Forschung zu science capital nach Archer und Kollegen (2015). Chemistry capital konzeptualisiert die Ressourcen einer Person, die im Feld der Chemie Wert haben. Dies umfasst soziale Netzwerke (z. B. Kontakt zu einer Chemikerin/einem Chemiker), emotionale und kognitive Ressourcen (z. B. Chemie-Wissen und Einstellung gegenüber Chemie) sowie chemiebezogene Aktivitäten. Die qualitativen Analysen zeigten, dass das chemistry capital im häuslichen Umfeld die Schülerinnen und Schüler im Feld der Chemie auf vielfältige Weise beeinflusst. Dies unterstützt Hypothese 3 (h3). Weiterhin legen die Daten die Vermutung nahe, dass strukturelle Ungleichheiten im deutschen Schulsystem die Unterschiede in Chemie verstärken. Schülerinnen und Schüler mit wenig chemistry capital in ihrem häuslichen Umfeld besuchen tendenziell Schulen, in denen der Anteil an fachfremden Chemielehrkräften besonders hoch ist. Hierdurch wird diesen Schülerinnen und Schülern eine wichtige Quelle von chemistry capital vorenthalten. Im Gegensatz hierzu scheinen die Schülerinnen und Schüler, die bereits in ihrem häuslichen Umfeld über chemistry capital verfügen, tendenziell Schulen zu besuchen, in denen Chemie fast ausschließlich durch Fachlehrkräfte unterrichtet wird. Die Mixed-Methods-Analyse in der Hauptstudie legte die Vermutung nahe, dass zwischen Chemie-Selbstkonzept der Schülerinnen und Schüler und chemistry capital im häuslichen Umfeld kein linearer Zusammenhang besteht. Eine Studie mit größerem Stichprobenumfang basierend auf quantitativen (oder Mixed-Methods-) Analysen von chemistry capital im häuslichen Umfeld und Chemie-Selbstkonzept könnte tiefere Einblicke bieten. Es ist derzeit noch unklar, ob die dritte Hypothese (h3) wahr ist. Das vorliegende Forschungsprojekt treibt die chemie- und naturwissenschafts-didaktische Forschung also in dreifacher Hinsicht voran: (i) Es legt einen Ansatz für kultursensible Erforschung akademischer Selbstkonzepte vor. Dieser Ansatz verbesserte sowohl die Validität als auch die Erklärungskraft der Chemie-Selbstkonzeptforschung. Er ist nicht chemiespezifisch und kann daher in anderen Bereichen der Selbstkonzeptforschung genutzt werden. (ii) Ein Interaktionseffekt von Gender und Migrationshintergrund wurde entdeckt, der in der Literatur zuvor noch nicht beschrieben wurde. (iii) Das Konzept des chemistry capital wurde definiert und in die Literatur eingeführt. Es ermöglicht Analysen des Chemielernens aus einer soziokulturellen Perspektive. Der Fokus verschiebt sich von den individuellen Schülerinnen und Schülern hin zu den Ressourcen, über die eine Schülerin oder ein Schüler in seinem oder ihrem sozikulturellen Kontext verfügt und die sie oder ihn im Feld der Chemie unterstützen. Dies erlaubt es, soziale Ungleichheiten in dem Feld aufzudecken, mit denen sich die Bildungspolitik befassen muss. Weiterhin birgt chemistry capital das Potential, Interventionsstudien und anwendungsorientierte Forschung (z. B. Ansätze zu kultursensiblem Chemieunterricht) zu inspirieren.

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Karanji Khurd microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behaviour and use potentials of the soils in the microwartershed. The present study covers an area of 446 ha in Karanji Khurd microwatershed in Humnabad taluk of Bidar district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought prone with an average annual rainfall of 811 mm of which about 609 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 109 mm during north-east and the remaining 93 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 96 per cent is covered by soils, one per cent covered by rock lands and 3 per cent by others. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 5 soil series and 17 soil phases (management units) and 3 land use classes.  The length of crop growing period is about 150 days starting from the 1st week of June to 2nd week of October.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing major agricultural and horticultural crops were assessed and maps showing degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  About 85 per cent area in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture and 15 per cent is not suitable for agriculture but well suited for forestry, pasture.  About 85 per cent of the soils are deep to very deep (100- >150 cm) and 11 per cent are very shallow (25-50 cm) soils.  Entire area has clayey soils at the surface.  Entire area is covered by non-gravelly soils.  About 44 per cent of the area has soils that are very high (>200mm/m) in available water capacity, 18 per cent medium (100-150 mm/m) and about 33 per cent low (50-100 mm/m) and very low (0.75%), 4 per cent is low (57 kg/ha) in available phosphorus.  About 21 per cent area is low (337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm).  Available boron is low (4.5 ppm) and 8 per cent deficient (0.6 ppm).  The land suitability for 19 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, farm price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 197 (44) 82 (19) Sapota - 146 (33) Maize - 82 (19) Jackfruit 66 (15) 79 (18) Red gram - 279 (63) Jamun 66 (15) 276 (62) Sunflower 197 (44) 82 (18) Musambi - 343 (77) Cotton 197 (44) 82 (18) Lime - 343 (77) Sugarcane - 82 (18) Cashew 3 (<1) 165 (37) Soybean 241 (54) 39(9) Custard apple 69 (16) 294 (66) Bengalgram 241 (54) 39(9) Amla 66(15) 297 (67) Guava - 146 (33) Tamarind 66(15) 276 (52) Mango - 78 (18) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 3 identified LCUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fibre and horticulture crops that helps in maintaining the ecological balance in the microwatershed   Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges that would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel and generate lot of biomass. This would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also help in mitigating the climate change. Baseline socioeconomic characterisation is prerequisite to prepare action plan for program implementation and to assess the project performance before making any changes in the watershed development program. The baseline provides appropriate policy direction for enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. Methodology: Karanji Khurd micro-watershed (Raipalli sub-watershed, Humnabad taluk, Bidar district) is located in between 17039' – 17041' North latitudes and 77012' – 77015' East longitudes, covering an area of about 446 ha, bounded by Mustari, Chitgoppa, Bannahalli and Bilkhera villages with length of growing period (LGP) 120- 150 days. We used soil resource map as basis for sampling farm households to test the hypothesis that soil quality influence crop selection, and conservation investment of farm households. The level of technology adoption and productivity gaps and livelihood patterns were analyses. The cost of soil degradation and ecosystem services were quantified. Results: Results: The socio-economic outputs for the Karanji Khurd micro-watershed in Raipalli sub-watershed, Humnabad taluk and Bidar district are presented here. Social Indicators;  Male and female ratio is 71.1 to 28.9 per cent to the total sample population.  Younger age group of 18 to 30 populations is around 60.0 per cent to the total population.  Literacy population is around 82.2 per cent.  Social groups belong to scheduled caste is around 30.0 per cent.  Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is the source of energy for a cooking among 60.0 per cent.  About 75.0 per cent of households have a yashaswini health card.  Dependence on ration cards for food grains through public distribution system is around 70.0 per cent.  Swach bharath program providing closed toilet facilities around 60.0 per cent of sample households.  Rural migration to urban centre for employment is preventing among 10.0 per cent of farm households.  Women participation in decisions making are around 50.0 per cent of households were found. Economic Indicators;  The average land holding is 1.3 ha indicates that majority of farm households are belong to small and medium farmers. Total cultivated area by dry land condition of among sample households. 2  Agriculture is the main occupation among 38.2 per cent and agriculture is the main agriculture labour is subsidiary occupation for 29.4 per cent of sample households.  The average value of domestic assets is around Rs. 112687 per household. Mobile and television are popular communication mass media.  The average value of farm assets is around Rs. 250 per household, around 10 per cent of sample farmers having weeder.  The average value of livestock is around Rs. 19500 per household; about 20.0 per cent of household are having livestock.  The average per capita food consumption is around 835.1 grams (1698.4 kilo calories) against national institute of nutrition recommendation at 827 gram. Around 40.0 per cent of sample households are consuming less than the NIN recommendation.  The annual average income is around Rs.42793 per household. About 90.0 per cent of farm households are below poverty line.  The per capita monthly average expenditure is around Rs.1765. Environmental Indicators-Ecosystem Services;  The value of ecosystem service helps to support investment to decision on soil and water conservation and in promoting sustainable land use.  The onsite cost of different soil nutrients lost due to soil erosion is around Rs. 982 per ha/year. The total cost of annual soil nutrients is around Rs. 417469 per year for the total area of 445.9 ha.  The average value of ecosystem service for food grain production is around Rs. 6636/ ha/year. Per hectare food grain production services is maximum in red gram (Rs. 9600) followed by soybean (Rs. 3671).  The data on water requirement for producing one quintal of grain is considered for estimating the total value of water required for crop production. The per hectare value of water used and value of water was maximum in redgram (Rs. 48024) followed by soybeans (Rs. 20594). Economic Land Evaluation;  The major cropping pattern is redgram (90.6 %) and soybean (9.4 %).  In Karanji Khurd micro watershed, major soils are Devgiri (DGR) series is having deep soil depth covers around 1.5 % of area. On this soil farmers are presently growing red gram. BNG soil series are having very deep soil depth covers around 44.2 % of area; the crops are redgram (88.3 %) and soybean (11.7 %).  The total cost of cultivation and benefit cost ratio (BCR) in study area for red gram ranges between Rs. 36603/ha in BGN soil (with BCR of 1.32) and Rs. 30426/ha in DGR soil (with BCR of 1.19). 3  In soybean the cost of cultivation in BGN soil is Rs 28478/ha (with BCR of 1.13).  The land management practices reported by the farmers are crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer application and use of farm yard manure (FYM). Due to higher wages farmer are following labour saving strategies is not prating soil and water conservation measures. Less ownership of livestock limiting application of FYM.  It was observed soil quality influences on the type and intensity of land use. More fertilizer applications in deeper soil to maximize returns. Suggestions;  Involving farmers is watershed planning helps in strengthing institutional participation.  The per capita food consumption and monthly income is very low. Diversifying income generation activities from crop and livestock production in order to reduce risk related to drought and market prices.  Majority of farmers reported that they are not getting timely support/extension services from the concerned development departments.  By strengthing agricultural extension for providing timely advice improved technology there is scope to increase in net income of farm households.  By adopting recommended package of practices by following the soil test fertiliser recommendation, there is scope to increase yield in redgram (39.4 to 50.8 %) and soybean (23.8 %). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

The World Bank's Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2009-2012 marks Indonesia's re-emergence as a confident middle-income country, and one that is enjoying a rising regional and global standing. Ten years ago, Indonesia was in the middle of an extremely severe economic crisis. Today, Indonesia has embarked upon a far-reaching institutional transformation and has become one of the region's most vibrant democracies. Its sub-national governments are now major players in service delivery. This booklet highlights the World Bank's portfolio of activities that support the Government of Indonesia in the Human Development sector, which encompasses both health and education. The World Bank's Human Development sector work covers almost the entire human life cycle, from maternal and neo-natal health, health insurance, early childhood education, school health and nutrition, basic education, to teacher reform, secondary education and youth skills, higher education, medical and health professional education and lifelong learning.

In this issue of Update from Washington DC.: Orphans in Muslim Mindanao; Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh; Women Entrepreneurs in Mongolia; Coalitions for Change in the Philippines; Mobile Banking in Vietnam; Women in India's Gig Economy and Let's Read.

This publication presents stories that showcase how improved connectivity has transformed lives—especially of women and girls—in rural communities of India. It presents the contributions of the Asian Development Bank's Rural Connectivity Investment Program (RCIP) in five states: Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal. Enhanced connectivity has improved people's quality of life in the five RCIP states and contributed to a range of socioeconomic benefits for the rural communities served. It has also helped advance development goals central to sustainable and inclusive growth.

The lotus Letter is a monthly news letter from the Lotus Circle. The Lotus Circle is a vibrant community of committed individuals and organizations working together to empower women and girls across Asia by supporting The Asia Foundation's Women's Empowerment Program.

The lotus Letter is a monthly news letter from the Lotus Circle. The Lotus Circle is a vibrant community of committed individuals and organizations working together to empower women and girls across Asia by supporting The Asia Foundation's Women's Empowerment Program.

The lotus Letter is a monthly news letter from the Lotus Circle. The Lotus Circle is a vibrant community of committed individuals and organizations working together to empower women and girls across Asia by supporting The Asia Foundation's Women's Empowerment Program.