Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Interventions and Indicators in Nepal: Implications for Sustainable Adaptation

We reviewed 76 climate change adaptation projects that were operational between 2010 and 2020. The review was followed by office and field visits for verification. The office visit helped crosscheck the findings, and the field observations carried out between December 2020 and April 2021 asked 24 key informants and collected supplementary information appraisal and indicator development. Of the CCA projects studied, the most (n = 48, 32%) were community-based initiatives, while the least (n = 12, 8%) were ecosystem-based interventions. The main environment-centered projects were Ecosystem-based Adaptations and Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC) while Enhanced Action of Inclusive CSOs for Participation in Climate Resilient Economic Growth (UTHAN), Initiative for CCA (ICCA), Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (HIMALICA), etc., adaptation projects were community-based. Capacity building and awareness-raising were the major thrust of the CbA projects, while the abatement of climate vulnerabilities and risks through nature-based solutions were priorities of EbA. Payment for Ecosystem services is a nature-based solution that can play a role in enhancing adaptation to climate change at a local scale by adopting community-based and culturally appropriate methods and enhancing and incentivizing adaptation measures and capacities. A set of 11 criteria and 40 indicators comprised the institutional and behavioral responses and the use of technologies, and the design of climate-resilient plans and climate-smart practices were proposed as appraisal measures to evaluate the success of CCA interventions. The importance of criteria and indicators lies in the fact that such a comprehensive assessment would lead to effective and efficient adaptation projects, which could help benefit beyond the borders. It also furthers ongoing adaptation interventions and is set to be an integral part of associated studies and monitoring and review of new adaptation interventions.

GDP Effect on B2C E-commerce Turnover and Number of Express Shipments in Selected European Post-Communist Countries

The impact of the e-economy has been observable in almost all the sectors of the national economies of the states in the last few years. The growing influence of this phenomenon is due to development of the Internet, which has already become a viable part of almost all the business activities including buying and selling. Therefore, it can be assumed that the area of e-commerce will have an increasing impact, not only on national economic development, but on the express mail market, as well. The content of the article is designed to provide a comprehensive view of the interdependence between the level of economic maturity (the GDP gross Domestic Product) per capita in the PPS (Purchase Power Standard) indicator), development of the e-commerce (indicator B2C (Business to Customer) e-commerce turnover) and the number of express deliveries. Identifying the influence between the aforementioned indicators, it will be possible to take certain measures to support the development of the e-commerce market.

A Methodological Approach to Designing Circular Economy Indicators for Agriculture: An Application to the Egg Sector

Analysing production systems from a circular economy (CE) perspective helps to pinpoint interventions to mitigate the environmental footprint by improving resource use efficiency, waste recovery, and prolonged product usage, recycling and reuse. Few studies exist on the measurement of CE at the micro-level. Additionally, available metrics/indicators address only certain aspects of the CE’s socio-economic metabolism, ignoring important components of the CE concept. Other frameworks propose a single indicator that aggregates and summarizes several facets of CE. This study develops a holistic approach for designing indicators with a structured methodology and an analytical framework to assess CE at the micro (unit of production) level in agriculture. The proposed approach is based on the ECOGRAI method for indicator development, and on validation of the methods with experts and final users via an application to egg production in Canada. Twenty-five performance indicators (PI) were generated for 11 decision variables that were selected as important for the sector. This resulted in a practical tool that proposes fourteen actions to improve the economic circularity (EC) of egg farms. Our methodological approach could be replicated to assess CE performance in other agricultural sectors.

Metastatic bone disease: new quality performance indicator development

ObjectivesPatients with metastatic bone disease (MBD) should receive the same standard of care regardless of which centre they are treated in. The aim was to develop and test a set of quality performance indicators (QPIs) to evaluate care for patients with MBD referred to orthopaedics.MethodsQPIs were adapted from the literature and ranked on feasibility and necessity during a modified RAND/Delphi consensus process. They were then validated and field tested in a retrospective cohort of 108 patients using indicator-specific targets set during consensus.Results2568 articles including six guidelines were reviewed. 43 quality objectives were extracted and 40 proceeded to expert consensus. After two rounds, 18 QPIs for MBD care were generated, with the following generating the highest consensus: ‘Patients with high fracture risk should receive urgent assessment’ (combined mean 6.7/7, 95% CI 6.5 to 6.8) and ‘preoperative workup should include full blood tests including group and save’ (combined mean 6.7/7, 95% CI 6.5 to 6.9). In the pilot test, targets were met for 5/18 QPIs (mean 52%, standard deviation 22%). The median deviation from projected target was −14% (interquartile range −11% to −31%, range −74% to 11%). The highest scoring QPI was ‘adults with fractures should have surgery within 7 days’ (target 80%:actual 92%).ConclusionsThe published evidence and guidelines were adapted into a set of validated QPIs for MBD care which can be used to evaluate variation in care between centres. These QPIs should be correlated with outcome scores to determine whether they can act as predictors of outcome after surgery.

Identification of remarkable dimensions in management and evaluation of Non-communicable disease programs

Objectives: This study aimed to identify indicators of proper program development by systematically reviewing existing literature. Methods: In this systematic review, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane library, ProQuest, and grey literature were searched. The search was limited to literature published between January 2000 and January 2019. Results: Forty articles were found relevant to the study objectives. data were obtained based on context, input, process, product (CIPP) model through these articles. 7 dimensions for context, 5 dimensions for input, 4 dimensions for process, and 6 dimensions for the product were identified. Conclusion: According to CIPP dimensions, some indicators such as program definition, appropriate organizational culture, structure and evaluation must be considered to develop an appropriate program to improve health services. Keywords: Management, evaluation, indicator, development programs, CIPP model

Guidelines for planning and monitoring corporate biodiversity performance

These Guidelines offer an approach for developing a corporate-level biodiversity strategic plan, including measurable goals and objectives and a set of core linked indicators, that will allow companies to measure their biodiversity performance across their operations. The Guidelines can be used by any company in any sector that has impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, whether large or small, national or multinational. They are aimed at sustainability teams, managers and other company staff whose roles include strategic planning and reporting related to biodiversity. The focus is on a full-cycle, results-based management approach (not just risk analyses, goal setting or indicator development), since assessing pressures on biodiversity, and planning and developing measurable goals, are key prerequisites for monitoring. They also explain how, by choosing and using appropriate core indicators and building internal capacity and partnerships, companies can aggregate and use biodiversity data at the corporate level in a meaningful way.