The hunt for the precious wood

Purpose This paper aims to explore the complex underpinnings and dynamics of increasing trend of illegal trading of high-value forest tress such as sandalwood in rural parts of Kenya, which has moved from highly opportunistic and culturally accepted activities to highly complex, commercial, criminal and entrepreneurial activity. The paper focuses on two theoretical frameworks: the first concerns with criminological concepts which underlie illegal logging, perpetrators and criminal network of smuggling of sandalwood from Kenya to overseas; the second focuses on the entrepreneurial process of the illegal trade of the endangered species. The central aim is to establish a confluence of criminology (rural and environmental) and entrepreneurship – the product of which can be useful in understanding emerging and highly sophisticated international crimes such smuggling and trafficking of sandalwood tree product. It proposes that sandalwood poaching just like other transnational crimes such as wildlife poaching is a highly organized international crime that involves more than one individual. The paper concludes by suggesting that sandalwood poaching is an entrepreneurial activity that impinges on criminological process, and to fully address the problem, we must address the supply and demand forces and the normative and social structure of source area. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a systematic review and immersion in literature from journals, books, government and non-governmental organization publications to raise debates and discourses on issues pertaining to the phenomena of sandalwood poaching in Kenya. It also entailed sieving through court judgments, newspaper articles and TV news to backup above information. Findings First, what has emanated from this study is that criminal cartels have directed their criminal business of sandalwood poaching to Kenya because force of demand and supply of precious wood, institution failures and regulatory and policy failures. Second, sandalwood poaching is ostensibly organized international enterprise crime that relies on division of labor to succeed. Third, more restrictive controls act as incentives to criminals to smuggle the wood. Finally, the more endangered the sandalwood, the more valuable and profitable it is and the more the poor countries and rural areas suffer from environmental degradation. Research limitations/implications Methodologically, one of the major limitations of this paper is that it is based on documentary analysis, because of a lack of research time and available finances. Prospective studies should consider utilizing in-depth interviews to gather evidence from offenders, police, rural residents and other government officials. Practical implications The paper contributes to growing fields of entrepreneurial, environmental and rural criminology. Methodologically, certain crimes such sandalwood poaching requires an intertwine of concepts of criminological and entrepreneurship for better understanding. Social implications To environmentalist, foresters, jurist, law enforcers and rural local residents; there is an urgent need to rethink how poaching of valuable endangered biodiversity species is treated, responded and promoted. To end poaching of sandalwood, there is a need to fundamentally realign tactics from criminalization and enforcement to address endemic cancer of poverty, unemployment and corruption present at source countries. This will indeed reduce economic vulnerabilities that cartels take advantage by engaging the locals in extracting sandalwood from trees. It will also reduce the power of networks but instead increase guardianship measures. Originality/value The originality of paper is the utilization of two theoretical frameworks: the first concerns with criminological concepts which underlie illegal logging, perpetrators and criminal network of smuggling of sandalwood from Kenya to overseas; and, second, the paper focuses on the entrepreneurial process of the illegal trade of the endangered species. The central aim is to establish a confluence of criminology (rural and environmental) and entrepreneurship – the product of which can be useful in understanding emerging and highly sophisticated international crimes such smuggling and trafficking of sandalwood tree product.

Tree products, food security and livelihoods: a household study of Burkina Faso

SUMMARYThis paper examines the contribution of products derived from baobab (Adansonia digitata), shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) to rural livelihoods in Burkina Faso. A survey was conducted in northern and southern regions to identify and understand the social and environmental factors influencing the utilization of tree products by rural households for home consumption and commercialization, and to explore the contribution of tree products to food security. Emphasis was placed on the roles and responsibilities of women for tree product utilization. Inter- and intra-household relationships governing tree foods were found to vary between regions and tree species, and with gender and household composition. Collection and utilization of tree products differed between north and south because of contrasting ecological contexts and evolving social mores. Household decision making processes were negotiated and consensual in both regions. The results suggest that domestication and dissemination of planting and regeneration technologies, and product processing and marketing initiatives, need a gendered and tree-specific approach in order to build on local norms and capacities. Measures for the conservation and management of tree resources are most important where ecological constraints are most severe but dependence is greatest for sustaining food security.

Conjugacy word problem in the tree product of free groups with a cyclic amalgamation

The conjugacy word problem in the tree product of free groups with a cyclic amalgamation is solved in the positive. This result generalizes the known result obtained by S. Lipschutz for the free product of two free groups with cyclic amalgamation. Solution of the main problem involves proving the solvability of the problem of intersection of a finitely generated subgroup of a given class of groups with a cyclic subgroup belonging to the factor of the main group; the solvability of the problem of intersection of a coset of a finitely generated subgroup with a cyclic subgroup belonging to a free factor.

Robust Adaptable Design of Mechanical Products

For an adaptable product, both configuration and parameter values associated with the configuration can be adapted in the product operation stage to satisfy different requirements. This research aims at developing a new design approach to identify the adaptable product whose functional performance is the least sensitive to parameter variations caused by uncertainties. First different configuration candidates in design and different product configurations in operation stage to satisfy design requirements are modeled by a novel hybrid AND-OR tree. Product/operating parameters associated with configurations are also modeled. A two-level optimization method is developed for identifying the optimal design configuration and the parameter values: design configuration optimization for identifying the optimal design configuration and parameter optimization for identifying the optimal parameter values associated with this design configuration. Case study of an adaptable vibratory feeder is developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the newly developed robust adaptable design method.