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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2013

Abstract

Tourism is acknowledged to be an important business sector in rural areas. This paper argues that second-home owners constitute an important market segment for businesses that offer nature-based tourism activities. Previous research has shown that a number of factors influence tourist behaviour. This study examined how motivation and demographic variables affect second-home owners\" intention to purchase three different types of activity products: learning, adventure, and hunting products. We found substantial variations in the purchase intentions for these products among second-home owners. These intentions were influenced by push and pull motivations, age, income and educational level. Second-home owners with a high intention of purchasing nature-based tourism activity products tend to be young, high-income, and socially oriented risk takers. Businesses offering nature-based tourism activity products should use a combination of demographic and psychographic variables when they segment the second-home market. Highlights The second-home market is important for nature-based tourism businesses. Their intention to purchase such products are influenced by leisure motives and demographic variables. Recreation experience preferences and reasons for having a second-home in an area influence their purchase intentions. Age and education level have a negative effect on the intention to purchase. Income has a positive effect on the intention to purchase.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the secondary ecotoxicological effects of soil amendment materials that can be added to contaminated soils in order to sequester harmful pollutants. To this end, a nonpolluted agricultural soil was amended with 0.5, 2, and 5% of the following four amendments: powder activated carbon (PAC), granular activated carbon, corn stover biochar, and ferric oxyhydroxide powder, which have previously been proven to sequester pollutants in soil. The resulting immediate effects (i.e., without aging the mixtures before carrying out tests) on the springtail Folsomia candida, the earthworm species Aporectodea caliginosa and Eisenia fetida, the marine bacteria Vibrio f ischeri, a suite of ten prokaryotic species, and a eukaryote (the yeast species Pichia anomalia) were investigated. Reproduction of F. candida was significantly increased compared to the unamended soil when 2% biochar was added to it. None of the treatments caused a negative effect on reproduction. All amendments had a deleterious effect on the growth of A. caliginosa when compared to the unamended soil, except the 0.5% amendment of biochar. In avoidance tests, E. fetida preferred biochar compared to all other amendments including the unamended soil. All amendments reduced the inhibition of luminescence to V. f ischeri, i.e., were beneficial for the bacteria, with PAC showing the greatest improvement. The effects of the amendments on the suite of prokaryotic species and the eukaryote were variable, but overall the 2% biochar dose provided the most frequent positive effect on growth. It is concluded that the four soil amendments had variable but never strongly deleterious effects on the bacteria and invertebrates studied here during the respective recommended experimental test periods.

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Abstract

Shifting from scientist-led top-down approaches in agricultural development to participatory approaches putting farmers and their knowledge in the center requires scientists and farmers to play new roles, changing social relationships between them, and among farmers themselves. Using mainly qualitative data and analysis, this paper reports social impacts (social relations, social empowerment and sharing of IPM information, and sustainability and institutionalization of IPM) for vegetable producers in an integrated pest management (IPM) project using farmer field schools (FFS) in Cotonou. Forty-three vegetable producers were chosen for semi-structured interviews. The project led to social empowerment of the vegetable producers and initiated a process of creation and sharing of IPM knowledge and building of social relations within and between the vegetable gardens. The participants realized they were sources of information for each other, and IPM knowledge was shared without the benefit or restriction of social networks. However, this study revealed several factors hindering the development of improved social relations among the vegetable producers and between these and the scientists and steering committee members, which in turn may result in lack of continuation and institutionalization of IPM activities. To overcome these obstacles, this research suggests that similar IPM-FFS projects encourage (1) a transparent selection process, (2) improvement of the Trainer of Trainers’ facilitation skills for better quality FFSs and improved sharing of complex information like agro-ecosystem analysis and beneficial insects, (3) building trust and confidence between the participants and scientists, (4) giving the ToT participants, community organizers and farmer organizations ownership of the project by giving them responsibility for creating post project plans to spread and institutionalize IPM of IPM-FFS activities and (5) facilitating the participants during and after the project in improving social relations and accountability. The results also draw lessons on how scientists and vegetable producers have or should have changed their roles to sustain and institutionalize IPM, such as the scientists and project leaders need to focus even more on their interactions with vegetable producers, enhancing their role as facilitators in initiating equitable processes of sustaining and institutionalizing IPM in the vegetable gardens.