The economic costs and benefits of biogas projects in developing countries

Summary Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) consists of five distinct logical steps: (1) to list the alternative courses of action open to the decision-maker; (2) to identify costs and benefits for every alternative; (3) to measure them in monetary terms; (4) to weight them for inter-personal and inter-temporal considerations so a to express them in their present value; and (5) to add up all costs and benefits suitably weighted to obtain the net present value (NPV) of the alternatives. Projects are acceptable if they have a positive NPV. CBA may be used to predict the actual behaviour of economic agents (positive CBA), e.g. to explain the uneven success of agroindustrial biogas installations in developed countries, or to prescribe behaviour (normative CBA), e.g. to tell a government what to do. CBA can be applied on a financial level where the unit under scrutiny is a single economic agent and money is the measuring rod, or on an economical level where the point of view is that of the totality of individuals inhabiting a country. In this last type of analysis fictive prices called accounting or shadow prices are used to capture the economy-wide repercussions associated with the project. Applied to biogas CBA shows the insufficient financial profitability of biogas installations for private decision-makers because external benefits are not taken into account. These are health benefits to the population at large, environmental benefits and agricultural benefits related to avoiding deforestation. Since the economic profitability of biogas exceeds its financial profitability it is the task of the government to choose modes of intervention such as funding research, providing institutional framework, regulation against pollution, financial incentives or convincing economic agents.

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Resumen El análisis de costes y beneficios (CBA) conlleva cinco fases distintas: (1) enumerar las distintas alternativas posibles (2) identificar los costes y beneficios para cada una de las alternativas. (3) medir estos costes y beneficios en términos monetarios. (4) sopersarlos a tenor de consideraciones interpersonales e intertemporales de forma que puedan expresarse en su valor actual. (5) sumar todos los costes y beneficios adecuadamente sopesados para obtener el valor actual neto (NPV) de cada una de las alternativas. Un proyecto tan solo sera factible si tiene un valor de NPV positivo.El CBA puede utilizarse para predecir el comportamiento actual de agentes economicos (CBA postivo) por ejemplo para explicar el éxito variable de instalaciones, de biogas agroindustriales en los países desarrollados, también puede utilizarse para prescribir un determinado comportamiento (CBA normativo) por ejemplo para aconsejar a un gobierno. El CBA puede aplicarse a nivel financiero cuando la unidad escrutada es un único agente económico y el patrón de medida es el dinero, tambien puede aplicarse a nivel económico cuando el punto de vista considerado es el de la totalidad de habitantes de un país. En este último tipo de análisis se utilizan precios ficticios, denominados precios contables o precios en la sombra, para tener en cuenta las repercusiones económicas asociadas al proyecto. Si aplicamos el procedimiento del CBA al biogas observamos un rendimiento insuficiente, en terminos financieros, para los inversores privados, ya que no se consideran los beneficios externos. Dichos beneficios son sanitarios, ambientales y agrícolas, relacionados con la disminución de la deforestación. Al exceder el rendimiento económico del biogas a su rendimiento financiero es deber del estado intervenir utilizando para ello un sistema adecuado como puede ser la financiación de la investigación, la adecuación de un marco institucional, la legislación antipolución, la incentivación financiera o la motivación de agentes económicos.

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Résumé L'analyse des coûts et bénéfices (ACB) consiste en cinq étapes logiques et distinctes: (1) l'énumération des alternatives offertes aux décideurs; (2) l'identification des coûts et bénéfices de chaque alternative; (3) la mesure de ces coûts et bénéfices en termes monétaires; (4) leur correction sur base de considérations interpersonnelles et intertemporelles de façon à les exprimer en leur valeur actuelle; (5) l'addition des coûts et bénéfices ainsi obtenus qui donne la valeur nette actualisée (VNA) des alternatives. On considère qu'un projet est acceptable s'il a une VNA positive. L'ACB peut être utilisée pour expliquer le comportement actuel des agents économiques, par exemple pour expliquer le succès inégal des installations agroindustrielles en PVD; ou pour prédire un comportement, c'est-à-dire par exemple dans le cadre d'une proposition d'action à un gouvernement. L'ACB est appliquée soit au niveau financier où l'unité étudiée est l'agent économique individuel et où l'argent est l'unité de mesure, soit au niveau économique où le point de vue est celui de la totalité des individus d'un pays. Dans ce dernier cas des prix fictifs appelés shadow prices sont utilisés pour prendre en compte les répercussions d'un projet au niveau économique au sens large. L'ACB appliquée à la biométhanisation montre la non-rentabilité financière des installations privées à cause du fait que les bénéfices externes de la technologie ne sont pas pris en compte. Ces bénéfices se situent au niveau de la santé publique, de la protection de l'environnement et de l'agriculture. Puisque la rentabilité économique de biogaz excède sa rentabilité financière, c'est le devoir des gouvernements de choisir des méthodes d'intervention telles que les subsides à la recherche, l'instauration de structures institutionnelles, de lois contre la pollution, d'incitants à l'investissement, etc.

     

The environmental implications of intensified land use in developing countries

The major agricultural intensifications in the developed world over the last half century have produced a range of important environmental problems. These include pollution, damage to wildlife and landscape and other issues, both on- and off-site. These are largely being controlled by scientific investigation and Government regulation. As developing countries increase agricultural production over the next 30 years, this may also cause even more serious environmental damage.<br>The paper distinguishes between production-related on-site damage, and off-site and more extensive effects. Both may involve soil and water effects, such as soil erosion, salinization, siltation, eutrophication and loss of water quality. The use of more agrochemicals can damage water quality, health, wildlife and biodiversity. Loss of habitat from the extension of farming is particularly damaging to biodiversity. A developing off-site problem is the production of greenhouse gases by farming systems, including the conversion of forests to farmland. In the future the introduction of genetically engineered species of plants, animals or microbes will need secure control.<br>Work, probably on a catchment basis, is necessary to understand and control these problems. The three main requirements are much better environmental information from the developing world; the selection of environmental indicators to be monitored; and the support of local farmers in protecting the environment. There are encouraging indications of farmer concern and action over obvious on-site damage, but this may not extend to extensive off-site issues. The main danger is that developing food scarcity would cause the environmental issues to be ignored in a race for production. <br>     

Comparative analysis of current US and EC biosafety regulations and their impact on the industry

Summary On July 18, 1991, the US National Institutes of Health added a section entitled Good Large-Scale Practice (GLSP) to Appendix K of theGuidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules. Highlights of this section include the requirement for: (i) a health and safety program; (ii) well-trained personnel; (iii) facilities, clothing and practices appropriate to the risk of exposure; (iv) discharges to air, water and soil that must be done in accordance with environmental regulations; (v) aerosol generation that must be kept to a minimum so that employee health is not adversely affected; and (vi) a spill control plan. This complements the blueprint for regulation of biotechnology in the US (Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology), in which the jurisdiction of each federal agency is established. Activities in Europe at this time included the adoption of three directives by the European Economic Community: on the protection of workers from risk related to exposure to biological agents at work, on the contained use of genetically modified organisms, and on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms. The relationship of these new guidelines and regulations to existing practices and their potential impact on future activities are discussed.     

Immune responses to tuberculosis in developing countries: implications for new vaccines

Tuberculosis is out of control in developing countries, where it is killing millions of people every year. In these areas, the present vaccine - Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) - is failing. Progressive tuberculosis occurs because the potentially protective T helper 1 (T(H)1)-cell response is converted to an immunopathological response that fails to eliminate the bacteria. Here, we discuss the data indicating that the problem in developing countries is not a lack of adequate T(H)1-cell responses but, instead, an exaggerated tendency to switch to immunopathological responses. We propose that a successful vaccine needs to block this immunopathology, because it is not the quantity of T(H)1-cell activity that matters but, rather, its context.     

Hemovigilance in developing countries

Hemovigilance like quality systems and audits has become an integral part of the Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) in the developed world and has contributed greatly to the development of the blood service. However developing countries are still grappling with donor recruitment and efforts towards sufficiency and safety of the blood supply. In these countries the BTS is generally fragmented and a national hemovigilance program would be difficult to implement. However a few developing countries have an effective and sustainable blood program that can deliver equitable, safe and sufficient blood supply to the nation. Different models of hemovigilance program have been introduced with variable success. There are deficiencies but the data collected provided important information that can be presented to the health authorities for effective interventions.Hemovigilance program modeled from developed countries require expertise and resources that are not available in many developing countries. Whatever resources that are available should be utilized to correct deficiencies that are already apparent and obvious. Besides there are other tools that can be used to monitor the blood program in the developing countries depending on the need and the resources available. More importantly the data collected should be accurate and are used and taken into consideration in formulating guidelines, standards and policies and to affect appropriate interventions. Any surveillance program should be introduced in a stepwise manner as the blood transfusion service develops.     

Case studies on the use of biotechnologies and on biosafety provisions in four African countries

This review is based on a study commissioned by the European Commission on the evaluation of scientific, technical and institutional challenges, priorities and bottlenecks for biotechnologies and regional harmonisation of biosafety in Africa. Biotechnology was considered within four domains: agricultural biotechnologies (‘Green’), industrial biotechnologies and biotechnologies for environmental remediation (‘White’), biotechnologies in aquaculture (‘Blue’) and biotechnologies for healthcare (‘Red’). An important consideration was the decline in partnerships between the EU and developing countries because of the original public antipathy to some green biotechnologies, particularly genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and food from GM crops in Europe. The study focus reported here was West Africa (Ghana, Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso).The overall conclusion was that whereas high-quality research was proceeding in the countries visited, funding is not sustained and there is little evidence of practical application of biotechnology and benefit to farmers and the wider community. Research and development that was being carried out on genetically modified crop varieties was concentrating on improving food security and therefore unlikely to have significant impact on EU markets and consumers. However, there is much non-controversial green biotechnology such as molecular diagnostics for plant and animal disease and marker-assisted selection for breeding that has great potential application. Regarding white biotechnology, it is currently occupying only a very small industrial niche in West Africa, basically in the sole sector of the production of liquid biofuels (i.e., bio-ethanol) from indigenous and locally planted biomass (very often non-food crops). The presence of diffused small-scale fish production is the basis to develop and apply new (Blue) aquaculture technologies and, where the research conditions and the production sector can permit, to increase this type of production and the economy of this depressed areas. However, the problems bound to environmental protection must not be forgotten; priority should be given to monitor the risks of introduction of foreign species. Red biotechnologies potentially bring a vast domain of powerful tools and processes to achieve better human health, most notably improved diagnostics by molecular techniques, better targeting of pathogens and a better knowledge of their sensitivities to drugs to permit better treatment.Biosafety regulatory frameworks had been initiated in several countries, starting with primary biosafety law. However, disparate attitudes to the purpose of biosafety regulation (e.g., fostering informed decision-making versus ‘giving the green-light for a flood of GMOs’) currently prevent a needed consensus for sub-regional harmonisation. To date, most R&D funding has come from North America with some commercial interests from Asia, but African biotechnology workers expressed strong desire for (re-)engagement with interested parties from the European Union. Although in some of the visited countries there are very well qualified personnel in molecular biology and biosafety/regulation, the main message received is that human resources and capacity building in-house are still needed. This could be achieved through home-based courses and capacity-building including funds for post-degree research to motivate and retain trained staff.     

对两用生物技术发展现状与生物安全的思考

生命科技的蓬勃发展与全球化步伐的持续加速,为人类社会带来了诸多福祉。然而,生物技术的两用特征和传染病严峻的流行趋势带来了一系列生物安全隐患,引发了世界性的生物安全问题。随着国际形势的日趋复杂,生物安全这一非传统安全问题已成为国家安全体系的重要组成部分。本文通过分析典型两用生物技术的潜在威胁及新发突发传染病的发展趋势,指出我国生物安全领域面临的挑战性问题。同时结合研究发达国家在战略、政策与技术方面应对生物安全的重要举措,从战略布局、科技创新、团队建设、政策支持等方面为我国在两用生物技术的生物安全领域的发展提出建议。     

Malnutrition and vaccination in developing countries

Malnutrition contributes to an estimated 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age in developing countries, predominantly due to infections. Malnourished children therefore stand to benefit hugely from vaccination, but malnutrition has been described as the most common immunodeficiency globally, suggesting that they may not be able to respond effectively to vaccines. The immunology of malnutrition remains poorly characterized, but is associated with impairments in mucosal barrier integrity, and innate and adaptive immune dysfunction. Despite this, the majority of malnourished children can mount a protective immune response following vaccination, although the timing, quality and duration of responses may be impaired. This paper reviews the evidence for vaccine immunogenicity in malnourished children, discusses the importance of vaccination in prevention of malnutrition and highlights evidence gaps in our current knowledge.     

Effective communication between hospital staff and patients in compliance with personal data protection regulations

Secure communication between patients and health care facilities is especially important In 2016, the European Union (EU) introduced a new regulation — the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), applicable in all EU member states — aimed at improving protection of personal data. The GDPR provides broad guidelines on data protection, but generally lacks specific details. Consequently, although member states must comply with the GDPR, there is some flexibility to develop new regulations to suit national characteristics and practices, especially in key economic sectors, such as health care. The aim of the present article is to discuss the benefits and limitations of legal provisions governing the patient identification (both in-person and remotely). This analysis is based on Polish laws that were recently passed to comply with the GDPR. In some cases, these data protection regulations may be unnecessarily strict, making routine care more difficult than intended by the GDPR. National legislation in Poland imposes strict data protection measures, such as prohibiting the public display of patient names or calling out the patient’s name in public. However, after health care personnel around the country criticised many of these measures, the law will be modified to address those concerns. For example, the patient’s name can be displayed on a wrist band and on containers with the patient’s medicines. Nonetheless, numerous questions still need to be resolved to adapt the general data protection rules to ensure the effective operation of the hospital to avoid problems related to accurate patient identification.