Institution
Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Education•Mbarara, Uganda•
About: Mbarara University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Mbarara, Uganda. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 1145 authors who have published 1845 publications receiving 43184 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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James Cook University1, Center for International Forestry Research2, Mbarara University of Science and Technology3, Southern Cross University4, University of Queensland5, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement6, Wageningen University and Research Centre7, Cornell University8
TL;DR: It is found the landscape approach has been refined in response to increasing societal concerns about environment and development tradeoffs and there has been a shift from conservation-orientated perspectives toward increasing integration of poverty alleviation goals.
Abstract: “Landscape approaches” seek to provide tools and concepts for allocating and managing land to achieve social, economic, and environmental objectives in areas where agriculture, mining, and other productive land uses compete with environmental and biodiversity goals. Here we synthesize the current consensus on landscape approaches. This is based on published literature and a consensus-building process to define good practice and is validated by a survey of practitioners. We find the landscape approach has been refined in response to increasing societal concerns about environment and development tradeoffs. Notably, there has been a shift from conservation-orientated perspectives toward increasing integration of poverty alleviation goals. We provide 10 summary principles to support implementation of a landscape approach as it is currently interpreted. These principles emphasize adaptive management, stakeholder involvement, and multiple objectives. Various constraints are recognized, with institutional and governance concerns identified as the most severe obstacles to implementation. We discuss how these principles differ from more traditional sectoral and project-based approaches. Although no panacea, we see few alternatives that are likely to address landscape challenges more effectively than an approach circumscribed by the principles outlined here.
1,004 citations
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William F. Laurance1, William F. Laurance2, D. Carolina Useche2, Julio Rendeiro2 +213 more•Institutions (101)
TL;DR: These findings suggest that tropical protected areas are often intimately linked ecologically to their surrounding habitats, and that a failure to stem broad-scale loss and degradation of such habitats could sharply increase the likelihood of serious biodiversity declines.
Abstract: The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon(1-3). With deforestation advancing quickly, protected areas are increasingly becoming final refuges for threatened species and natural ecosystem processes. However, many protected areas in the tropics are themselves vulnerable to human encroachment and other environmental stresses(4-9). As pressures mount, it is vital to know whether existing reserves can sustain their biodiversity. A critical constraint in addressing this question has been that data describing a broad array of biodiversity groups have been unavailable for a sufficiently large and representative sample of reserves. Here we present a uniquely comprehensive data set on changes over the past 20 to 30 years in 31 functional groups of species and 21 potential drivers of environmental change, for 60 protected areas stratified across the world's major tropical regions. Our analysis reveals great variation in reserve 'health': about half of all reserves have been effective or performed passably, but the rest are experiencing an erosion of biodiversity that is often alarmingly widespread taxonomically and functionally. Habitat disruption, hunting and forest-product exploitation were the strongest predictors of declining reserve health. Crucially, environmental changes immediately outside reserves seemed nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate, with changes inside reserves strongly mirroring those occurring around them. These findings suggest that tropical protected areas are often intimately linked ecologically to their surrounding habitats, and that a failure to stem broad-scale loss and degradation of such habitats could sharply increase the likelihood of serious biodiversity declines.
962 citations
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University of Leeds1, University of Yaoundé I2, Forestry Commission3, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad4, Mbarara University of Science and Technology5, Smithsonian Institution6, Wageningen University and Research Centre7, Salisbury University8, Wildlife Conservation Society9, University of York10, Environmental Change Institute11, University of Dar es Salaam12, University of Aberdeen13, University College Dublin14, University of Toronto15
TL;DR: Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.
Abstract: The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are carbon-dense and highly productive. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in carbon storage over recent decades, but the response of one-third of the world's tropical forests in Africa is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground carbon storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.94; mean interval, 1987-96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in carbon storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.15-0.43). These reported changes in carbon storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area, providing evidence that increasing carbon storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29-0.66; mean interval, 1987-97). This indicates a carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.8-1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.
941 citations
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Columbia University1, Georgetown University2, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill3, University of California, San Diego4, World Bank5, United States Agency for International Development6, Harvard University7, Moi University8, Indiana University9, Mbarara University of Science and Technology10, Massachusetts Institute of Technology11
TL;DR: It is suggested that SMS reminders may be an important tool to achieve optimal treatment response in resource-limited settings and be used to promote high adherence to antiretroviral therapy.
Abstract: This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Mobile phone technologies improve adherence to antiretroviral treatment in a resource-limited setting : a randomized controlled trial of text message reminders, conducted between June 2007 to August 2008 in Kenya. The study observed that there is limited evidence on whether growing mobile phone availability in sub-Saharan Africa can be used to promote high adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). This study tested the efficacy of short message service (SMS) reminders on adherence to ART among patients attending a rural clinic in Kenya. In intention-to-treat analysis, 53 percent of participants receiving weekly SMS reminders achieved adherence of at least 90 percent during the 48 weeks of the study, compared with 40 percent of participants in the control group, the difference is significant. Funding for the study derived from the World Bank Research Group, Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program, USAID AMPATH Partnership, National Institute of Mental Health.
921 citations
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TL;DR: Parenteral artesunate should replace quinine as the treatment of choice for severe falciparum malaria worldwide, according to evidence from Asia, and substantially reduces mortality in African children with severe malaria.
810 citations
Authors
Showing all 1165 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Thomas Elbert | 106 | 610 | 41664 |
David R. Bangsberg | 97 | 463 | 39251 |
Michael H. Picard | 81 | 420 | 51738 |
Detlef Zillikens | 75 | 581 | 20303 |
Douglas Sheil | 71 | 315 | 19213 |
Eva-B. Bröcker | 66 | 318 | 14006 |
Enno Schmidt | 57 | 361 | 10692 |
Alexander C. Tsai | 57 | 295 | 11837 |
Sheri D. Weiser | 53 | 208 | 9828 |
Jessica E. Haberer | 51 | 273 | 11455 |
Terry Sunderland | 50 | 212 | 10215 |
Catherine Kyobutungi | 44 | 168 | 16279 |
Ulrich Schiefele | 44 | 124 | 10322 |
Martin Plath | 41 | 258 | 5920 |
Malissa J. Wood | 38 | 118 | 5793 |