Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones, have flown out of the pages of science fiction and arrived in Africa. A rush of recent research, pilot and exploratory activities have evaluated the technology and identified sectors where it can best benefit the people of the continent. Now it is questions of national policy that will determine how far drones will go.

This book explores the economic and broader societal rationale for using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or “drone†? technologies as a complement to the current transport and logistics systems in several use cases in East Africa. The specific use cases examined include medical goods deliveries, food aid delivery, land mapping and risk assessment, agriculture, and transport and energy infrastructure inspection. Across these applications, the case for using UAVs is examined within the context of logistics objectives—total operating costs, speed, availability, and flexibility—as well as human, or societal, objectives. In the public health use case, as more low- and middle-income countries explore opportunities to improve efficiency and performance in their health supply chains and diagnostics networks, they face myriad choices about how best to use UAVs to improve product availability and public health outcomes and to reach the last mile. The high-level findings from this analysis are that, if examining commodity categories individually and looking exclusively at costs, delivery with UAVs in general is still more expensive for most categories. Although the cost is still higher, the most cost-effective use case examples include the transport of laboratory samples to selected destinations and delivery of life-saving items and blood. However, “layering†? several use cases can provide efficiencies and cost savings by allocating fixed costs across a greater number of flights and maximizing capacity and time utilization. From the perspective of public decision-makers, the cost effectiveness of UAVs cannot be analyzed without looking at the public health benefits, which may be substantial. Drone application in the other use cases examined in this book, such as mapping, risk assessment, and agriculture, is relatively more common than cargo drone operations, and the existing pilot initiatives in East Africa have delivered impressive results for speed and quality (precision). Food aid delivery by drones is still mostly at a planning, rather than implementation, stage. Drone applications are rapidly evolving, and several use cases could gain impact and scale over the coming years.

An intrepid investigation of the criminal world of wildlife trafficking--the poachers, the traders, and the customers--and of those fighting against it Journalist Rachel Nuwer plunges the reader into the underground of global wildlife trafficking, a topic she has been investigating for nearly a decade. Our insatiable demand for animals -- for jewelry, pets, medicine, meat, trophies, and fur -- is driving a worldwide poaching epidemic, threatening the continued existence of countless species. Illegal wildlife trade now ranks among the largest contraband industries in the world, yet compared to drug, arms, or human trafficking, the wildlife crisis has received scant attention and support, leaving it up to passionate individuals fighting on the ground to try to ensure that elephants, tigers, rhinos, and more are still around for future generations. As Reefer Madness (Schlosser) took us into the drug market, or Susan Orlean descended into the swampy obsessions of TheOrchid Thief, Nuwer--an award-winning science journalist with a background in ecology--takes readers on a narrative journey to the front lines of the trade: to killing fields in Africa, traditional medicine black markets in China, and wild meat restaurants in Vietnam. Through exhaustive first-hand reporting that took her to ten countries, Nuwer explores the forces currently driving demand for animals and their parts; the toll that demand is extracting on species across the planet; and the conservationists, rangers, and activists who believe it is not too late to stop the impending extinctions. More than a depressing list of statistics, Poached is the story of the people who believe this is a battle that can be won, that our animals are not beyond salvation.

In October 2017, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) in partnership with the NEPAD Agency, conducted a survey to understand the perceptions surrounding the use of drones for agriculture. Approximately 13,000 individuals (mainly English and French-speaking readers of CTA e-publications or members of CTA-managed ommunities of practice) received an invitation to participate in the survey. The aim was to understand the general perceptions on the use of drones amongst stakeholders in agriculture and development cooperation with an emphasis on African regions. 16%, or a total of 1432 individuals (of whom 91% have worked or are currently working in Africa), completed the survey and had at least a working knowledge of drones in agriculture.

Konsorcio was just the opening salvo in a greater war. Saga and Altaj lead Terons and Pacis in a fight against the Prots, in an attempt to save the Earth. Their embattled forces become separated and are forced to learn how to survive with their new Earthian allies. Battles rage around the planet, from the jungles of Africa to the ice-covered polar regions, as clashes in the Prots’ subterranean layers prove costly. Once again, scientific ingenuity becomes humanity’s greatest weapon.

A complete and accessible overview of how politics and economics collide in a global context This text surveys the theories, institutions, and relationships that characterize IPE and highlights them in a diverse range of regional and transnational issues. The bestseller in the field, Introduction to International Political Economy positions students to critically evaluate the global economy and to appreciate the personal impact of political, economic, and social forces.