Browsing by Author "Fernholz, Fernando R"
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Item Open Access Cocopeat Effluent Water Filtration Systems in the Philippines: A Comparative Evaluation of Alternative Implementation Models(2014-04-25) Parsons, SethContext & Problem Overview - There is a great necessity for improved sanitation practices in the developing world. Forty percent of the world’s population practice open defecation or lack adequate sanitation facilities. In urban areas throughout the developing world, where household and community toilets are available, 2.1 billion people use toilets connected to septic tanks that are not safely emptied or use other systems that discharge raw sewage into open drains or surface waters resulting in a greater incidence of waterborne diseases, poor drinking water quality, and contaminated water sources. In the Philippines, poor sanitation infrastructure and disease costs the economy $1.94 billion a year. Improved sanitation practices and infrastructure are difficult to implement and sustain. Public services, treatment systems, and sanitation practices in the developing world often require sufficient land, capital, and energy resources that are often scarce. Low cost, sustainable improvements and innovations, as well as local acceptance and ownership, are necessary to develop and implement alternative technologies that can help reuse waste, improve water treatment and improve overall quality of sanitation services. Researchers at Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International have developed and tested a secondary waste water treatment filter that can be appended to existing decentralized waste water treatment systems (DEWATS) and collection facilities. Using a cocopeat filter, the discarded dust and coir generated from coconut processing plants, an effective bio-filter unit can be constructed. This simple device can easily be connected to existing septic tanks or other primary treatment components to filter effluent waste water and meet national discharge standards. This filtration technology has the potential to improve health and positively impact sanitation services for urban poor communities. Although successful pilot programs have been launched through grant funding and self-financing, RTI would like to explore alternative implementation models to deliver this technology to a larger audience in the Philippines. Policy Question - What implementation models could RTI International consider for scaling up cocopeat bio-filtration systems to improve access to safe water and sanitation in urban poor areas of the Philippines? Data and Methodology - To assess and recommend potential implementation model options the following data and methodology was used: 1) Sanitation Sector Landscape Analysis – I conducted a literature review of the Philippines sanitation sector to assess the most significant institutional factors related to implementing DEWATS projects. 2) Case Study Analysis – I collected and reviewed relevant case studies related to DEWATS projects implemented in urban Philippines locations to determine key lessons learned, potential implementation models, and project financing structures. 3) Integrated Financial and Economic Analysis – From the financial and economic data collected in the case studies, I analyzed cocopeat filter technology system costs with comparable secondary treatment systems. Additionally, I analyzed potential cost distributions of a cocopeat filter system using four different implementation models. Findings - 1) Cocopeat filter technology is a proven low cost, sustainable, and effective alternative to other secondary waste water treatment technology options with comparable efficiency. 2) The Community Participation model shows the most potential for mitigating institutional risks and constraints within the sanitation sector. 3) Efficient DEWATS implementation using a cocopeat filter has the potential to improve benefit to cost ratios (BCRs), reduce cost burdens on direct users, and introduce sanitation treatment systems to urban areas where space constraints are a key limiting factor. Recommendations - RTI could pursue Community Participation models for implementing cocopeat filter DEWATS projects with support from local government units (LGUs) and NGOs. This model shows the most promise for mitigating institutional risks, promoting awareness of sanitation benefits, driving ownership by end users, and enabling technology adoption. Given that technical implementation, social marketing, and sanitation training expertise resides predominantly with NGOs, RTI should also continue to promote the benefits of cocopeat filter technology through these subject matter experts.Item Open Access Enterprising Youth: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Uncashed Dividend(2014-04-27) Garg, SukanyaNearly one-third of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is between the age group of 10 and 24 years (Devlin, 2013). This is only expected to grow further. However, the region has the fewest number of wage-earners (Monga, 2013). Youth employment is even worse as only about a third of the jobs created in Africa between 2000 and 2008 employed people between the ages of 15 and 24 years (African Economic Outlook, 2013c). The shrinking role of the public sector and the inadequate size of the private sector are the major reasons for the high unemployment rate in Africa. Low level of skills, lack of information about the job market and cultural and social stigmas further contribute to youth unemployment in Africa. The demand-management policies to promote youth employment have been ineffective. Thus, in the absence of jobs and due to the inefficacy of active labor market policies, entrepreneurship is critical to the future of Africa. However, lack of entrepreneurial training, inaccessibility of finance and markets, inadequate infrastructure, and cultural and political constraints are some of the main barriers to youth entrepreneurship. In light of the growing relevance of self-employment and an increasing inclination of African youth towards pursuing it, addressing the barriers to entrepreneurship is critical to Africa’s growth agenda. As a result, youth entrepreneurship programs offer various interventions including training, financing, mentoring, support, market access and other services to resolve the constraints faced by youth. However, evaluations of these programs have shown that they produce a variety of effects, both positive and negative, that preclude any generalizations. Moreover, the impact studies of such programs are few in number and lack consistency in type, implementation, and the environment of the programs’ interventions. Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence that youth entrepreneurship programs have made a valuable contribution to youth employment. This paper focuses on a qualitative study of interviews with 11 specialists in the area of entrepreneurship to understand the best practices in the design and implementation of entrepreneurship programs.Item Open Access Public-Private Partnership Design for Inclusive Cocoa Global Value Chains in Ghana(2016-06-22) Harris, BahariWithin 10 years, there could be a severe global shortage in the supply of cocoa, according to industry practitioners and other experts. Due to global population growth and the emergence of a growing global middle class, by 2025 the cocoa crop would need to increase by nearly 50 per cent to keep up with projected demand. A potential shortage of supply is a direct threat to the business model of lead firms – including cocoa grinders and processors, chocolate confectioners, and retail distributors. But these international firms – the ones that will suffer the most if there is a shortage of cocoa supply – are helping create the market failure that is stifling sustainability. Functioning as a two-tiered consolidated oligopoly with a combined market share of approximately 89%, these firms enjoy the largest portion of value capture in the cocoa-chocolate global value chain (GVC). The smallholder cocoa producers, conversely, are trapped in low value-add segments of the GVC. In fact, most smallholder farmers survive on less than $1.00 per day per capita, on average in many cocoa exporting countries. In Ghana - the second largest producer of cocoa in the world - the government has accomplished little to help these smallholders upgrade and make cocoa an attractive sector for the next generation to inherit. The result – both in Ghana and around the world – is a lack of sustainability of the supply of cocoa. Demand is already beginning to outstrip supply. As a result of these underlying circumstances, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has posed the following policy question: "Under what conditions could USAID, as a development agency, support and enhance potential public-private partnerships in order to improve the bargaining power (and financial wherewithal) of smallholder organizations and farmers in the context of the global value chain for cocoa in Ghana?"