An ever-increasing drift of energy consumption, unequal geographical distribution of natural wealth and the quest for low carbon fuel for a cleaner environment are sparking the production and use of biodiesels in many countries around the globe. In this work, jatropha and karanja biodiesels were produced from the respective crude vegetable oils through transesterification, and the different phy...

We study how distributional preferences are affected by a major property rights reform that transformed informal use-rights over land traditionally characterizing rural Beninese villages in system akin to private ownership. The design combines the randomized control-trial implementation of across with lab-in-the-field experiments eliciting villagers' choices -- both when luck is source situatio...

Since the late 1970s dramatic economic changes have taken place in the agricultural sector in the highlands of Guatemala. The introduction of new export crops, such as snow peas, broccoli, and miniature vegetables, has led to yet another agro-export boom. Unlike earlier booms, however, this one has included all but the smallest farmers. The high rate of smallholder participation in the boom, an...

The importance of the surrounding landscape to aquatic ecosystems has been well established. Most research linking aquatic ecosystems to landscapes has focused on the one-way effect of land on water. However, to understand fully the complex interactions between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems must be seen not only as receptors of human modification of the landscape, but a...

Land cover/land use categories are relevant components in land management. Understanding how land cover/land use change over time is necessary to assess the consequences of humans and natural stressors on the earth’s environment and resources. The aim of the study was to map and monitor the spatial and temporal change in land cover/land use for the periods of 1977, 1991 and 2016 and to predict ...