Journal articles on the topic 'Natural resources – Gambia'

In this increasingly bloc-competitive world, small countries are generally overlooked. Unless, by dint of fortune, they have some strategic resource, or have leaders who are globally vocal and visible, or are able to link themselves to the fortunes of larger political units, they may very well stand to be economically disadvantaged. Located in the drought-prone Sudano-Sahelian region of West Africa, with a land area that spans only 4,361 square miles (11,295 sq km) and a population currently estimated at about 797,000, The Gambia represents the classic case of a small country. It is surrounded on all sides by Senagal, except for its short Atlantic coastline, and extends 484 km inland, varying in width between 24 and 48 km along the River Gambia. Apart from being a geographical Lilliput, it has few natural resources and lacks the type of controversial leadership that commands world attention.

This paper aims at finding out the national interest of China in conducting economic cooperation with the Gambia from 2016. Relying on qualitative inquiry, this research is informed by the theoretical concepts from national interest. In terms of national interest, the political aspect of the national interest of Morgenthau and the economic aspect of Donald E. Nuechterlein is used to analyze the national interest of China in the Gambia. To answer the research question: What is China’s national interest in their economic cooperation with the Gambia? The research finds out that China has political and economic interests in the Gambia. Politically, China’s interest in the Gambia is clearly stated in the joint communique signed between China and the Gambia when they were resuming their diplomatic relations in 2016. As a form of this agreement, the Gambia is supporting the One-China principle by not opening official relations with Taiwan. Finally, China retains an economic interest to secure the Gambian market for Chinese products and natural resources for Chinese manufacturing industries. Most importantly, is the port of the Gambia which has a strategic location in the west Africa region and is crucial to the China’s belt and road initiative. China has become one of the major sources of financial support for the Gambia since resuming economic cooperation in 2016. This financial support includes giving loans, grants, aid, and trade. As can be seen from the analysis of the dependency perspective, this research shows that China uses its loans and grants to monopolized the Gambia market for Chinese goods and Chinese investment which likely creates contracts for Chinese companies and provide job opportunities for Chinese citizens. Keywords: national interest, China, The Gambia, economic cooperation, one-china principle.

Creating a national baseline for natural resources, such as mangrove forests, and monitoring them regularly often requires a consistent and robust methodology. With freely available satellite data archives and cloud computing resources, it is now more accessible to conduct such large-scale monitoring and assessment. Yet, few studies examine the reproducibility of such mangrove monitoring frameworks, especially in terms of generating consistent spatial extent. Our objective was to evaluate a combination of image processing approaches to classify mangrove forests along the coast of Senegal and The Gambia. We used freely available global satellite data (Sentinel-2), and cloud computing platform (Google Earth Engine) to run two machine learning algorithms, random forest (RF), and classification and regression trees (CART). We calibrated and validated the algorithms using 800 reference points collected using high-resolution images. We further re-ran 10 iterations for each algorithm, utilizing unique subsets of the initial training data. While all iterations resulted in thematic mangrove maps with over 90% accuracy, the mangrove extent ranges between 827–2807 km2 for Senegal and 245–1271 km2 for The Gambia with one outlier for each country. We further report “Places of Agreement” (PoA) to identify areas where all iterations for both methods agree (506.6 km2 and 129.6 km2 for Senegal and The Gambia, respectively), thus have a high confidence in predicting mangrove extent. While we acknowledge the time- and cost-effectiveness of such methods for the landscape managers, we recommend utilizing them with utmost caution, as well as post-classification on-the-ground checks, especially for decision making.

This article seeks to explain the resurgence of the ‘community’ scale as a central organising principle guiding contemporary environmental initiatives in Africa. It sets policies centred on the notion of community-based natural resource management in their regional political-economic context, demonstrating that fiscal constraints have forced environmental managers to rely more heavily on community efforts to accomplish environmental objectives. In effect, it argues that environmental managers confronted with increased expectations on the part of donors and their government superiors have seized the opportunity to devolve responsibility for environmental management to ‘the community’ as a means of expanding programmes while incurring minimal additional costs. The case study involves a German-funded community forestry project in the Gambia. In 1991, in order to speed up the implementation of ‘scientific’ management on state-controlled forest land, the Gambian-German Forestry Project, a branch of the national Forestry Department, began granting rural communities leasehold rights to community forestry reserves. In each instance, however, community representatives were required by contract to commit their constituencies to a rigorous set of management tasks. Participatory rhetoric notwithstanding, the project offered communities little more than graduated sovereignty over forests. Programme conditions ensured that project personnel would control the finest details of forest management, not despite, but because of, the evolution of tenure rights to the community.

This study examines the arrival of the (trans)national investment companies in Gambela Regional State of Ethiopia where the Anyuaa and Nuer ethnic groups struggle over land and natural resources. The study aimed to explore the implication of the convergence of the large-scale land acquisition and resource based local conflict towards the local community in the region. A qualitative research approach was taken to carry out the study. Accordingly, findings from in-depth qualitative interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews show that the (trans)national investment companies contributed for the escalation of the conflict in the region. The arrival of the (trams)national companies, through the country’s pro-large-scale investment policy, in the region where land has been contested by groups organized along ethnic fault-lines, created the competition and struggle over land increasing the number of competitors on the same land. The study concludes that the nexus between the large-scale land transfer and resource based conflict in the region resulted de-peasntization and proletariansation of the rural poor in the region. Therefore, apposite land policy and governance is needed since such policy and governance not only contributes for sustainable development and manage the conflict but also helps to empower the rural poor beyond its role to redress the damage done.

Abstract. This research is motivated by problems in the study of economic activity relation to natural resources that are conventional. Based on early research on learning outcomes, students who pass the study only reached 38.9%. This study aimed at improving student learning outcomes in economic activity with regard learning resource in class IV Semester II SDN Cilengkrang Northern District of Sumedang Sumedang Regency. Learning by using photographic images selected researchers to overcome these problems. The method used is the method of discussion. The steps of the learning that students in groups discussing the photographic image and then the presentation. Photographic images are an effective means of mass communication and is often used as a teaching aid that will allow teachers to deliver the material. The method used in this research is a classroom action research methods to the design of the research procedure refers to the spiral model Kemmis and McTaggart. The instruments used are guidelines for observation, interview and test. As for data validation, used techniques chek members, triangulation, audit trail and expert opinion. Based on the implementation of the actions performed by three cycles, as a whole has shown an increase from the initial data, both process and outcomes of learning. So the use of photographic images can improve student learning outcomes in material connection with the economic activity of the natural resources in the second half of the class IV SDN Cilengkrang Northern District of Sumedang Sumedang Regency. Keywords: Image Photography, Social Education, Economic Activity. Abstrak. Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh masalah pada pembelajaran kaitan aktivitas ekonomi dengan sumber daya alam yang bersifat konvensional. Berdasarkan penelitian awal pada hasil belajar, siswa yang tuntas belajar hanya mencapai 38,9 %. Penelitian ini bertujuan meningkatkan hasil belajar siswa pada pembelajaran kaitan aktivitas ekonomi dengan sumber daya alam di kelas IV Semester II SDN Cilengkrang Kecamatan Sumedang Utara Kabupaten Sumedang. Pembelajaran dengan menggunakan gambar fotografi dipilih peneliti untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut. Metode yang digunakan yaitu metode diskusi. Adapun langkah-langkah pembelajarannya yaitu siswa berkelompok berdiskusi mengenai gambar fotografi kemudian presentasi. Gambar fotografi adalah alat komunikasi massa yang efektif dan biasa digunakan sebagai alat bantu mengajar yang akan memudahkan guru untuk menyampaikan materi. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian tindakan kelas dengan rancangan prosedur penelitiannya mengacu pada model spiral Kemmis dan McTaggart. Instrumen yang digunakan yaitu pedoman observasi, pedoman wawancara, dan tes. Sedangkan untuk validasi data, digunakan teknik member chek, triangulasi, audit trail dan expert opinion. Berdasarkan pelaksanaan tindakan yang dilakukan sebanyak tiga siklus, secara keseluruhan telah menunjukan adanya peningkatan dari data awal, baik dalam proses maupun hasil belajar. Sehingga penggunaan gambar fotografi dapat meningkatkan hasil belajar siswa pada materi kaitan aktivitas ekonomi dengan sumber daya alam di kelas IV semester II SDN Cilengkrang Kecamatan Sumedang Utara Kabupaten Sumedang. Kata Kunci: Gambar Fotografi, Pendidikan IPS, Aktivitas Ekonomi.

This study aims to determine the effect of the learning media that include video and picture media and self-regulated learning of the learning outcomes of Natural Science on the content correlation between of natural resource with environment and technology. The study was conducted on students in grade IV SD Negeri Karang Tengah 4 Tangerang, the number of students as many as 36 students. Research using experiment method treatment by level 2 x 2. Data analysis is the analysis of variance of two path (ANOVA). The result of this study indicate that (1) There are differences in learning outcomes of natural science among the group given video media and the group given picture media (2) there are interaction between learning media with self-regulated of the learning outcomes of natural science on the content correlation between of natural resource with environment and technology. Keywords: video media, picture media, self-regulated learning, learning outcomes of natural science. Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk Tentukan pengaruh media pembelajaran yang meliputi media video dan gambar dan pembelajaran mandiri dari hasil belajar Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam pada korelasi antara isi dari sumber daya alam dengan lingkungan dan teknologi. Penelitian dilakukan pada siswa kelas IV Sekolah Dasar Karang Tengah 4 Tangerang, jumlah siswa sebanyak 36 siswa. Penelitian menggunakan metode eksperimen pengobatan oleh tingkat 2 x 2. Analisis data adalah analisis varians dua jalur (ANOVA). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa (1) Ada perbedaan hasil belajar ilmu pengetahuan alam antara media video grup tertentu dan kelompok yang diberi Media gambar (2) ada interaksi antara media pembelajaran dengan mandiri dari hasil belajar alam ilmu tentang korelasi antara isi dari sumber daya alam dengan lingkungan dan teknologi. Kata kunci: media video, media gambar, pembelajaran mandiri, hasil belajar ilmu pengetahuan alam.

Aktivitas ekonomi konstruktif berbasis lingkungan dapat diintegrasikan secara kontekstual pada pembelajaran IPS. Rumah Herbal Alam Lestari di Komplek Bukit Permata Indah (Kampung Herbal) Banjarbaru merupakan usaha yang menjual berbagai produk obat herbal. Artikel ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan aktivitas ekonomi di Rumah Herbal Alam Lestari yang memanfaatkan lingkungan untuk ditanami tumbuhan herbal dalam upaya meningkatkan taraf hidup masyarakat sekaligus sebagai lingkungan hijau. Metode Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif yang untuk mendapatkan data melalui observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi. Data yang didapat direduksi, disajikan dalam bentuk narasi yang dilengkapi gambar dan tabel analisis materi untuk selanjutnya disimpulkan. Keabsahan data melalui triangulasi waktu, sumber, dan teknik. Hasil penelitian mendeskripsikan aktivitas ekonomi Rumah Herbal Alam Lestari memproduksi dua macam produk yaitu obat herbal dan tumbuhan langsung dari ukuran besar maupun kecil, didistribusikan dan dikonsumsi atau digunakan oleh masyarakat, dengan aktivitas ekonomi ini dapat diintegrasikan sebagai sumber belajar IPS di kelas VII pada materi aktivitas ekonomi (produksi, distribusi, dan konsumsi) yang berkonsep lingkungan.

AbstractObjectiveTo understand how access to natural resources may contribute to nutrition.DesignIn each of the two major seasons, data were collected during a 7 d period using observations, semi-structured interviews, anthropometric measures and a weighed food consumption survey.SettingFour rural communities selected to represent inland and coastal areas of the Gamba Complex in Gabon.SubjectsIn each community, all individuals from groups vulnerable to malnutrition, i.e. children aged 0–23 months (n 41) and 24–59 months (n 63) and the elderly (n 101), as well as women caregivers (n 96).ResultsIn most groups, household access to natural resources was associated with household access to food but not with individual nutritional status. In children aged 0–23 months, access to care and to health services and a healthy environment were the best predictors of length-for-age (adjusted R2: 14 %). Health status was the only predictor of weight-for-height in children aged 24–59 months (adjusted R2: 14 %). In women caregivers, household food security was negatively associated with nutritional status, as was being younger than 20 years (adjusted R2: 16 %). Among the elderly, only nutrient adequacy predicted nutritional status (adjusted R2: 5 %).ConclusionImproving access to care and health for young children would help reverse the process of undernutrition. Reaching a better understanding of how the access of individuals to both food and other resources relate to household access could further our appreciation of the constraints to good nutrition. This is particularly relevant in women to ensure that their possibly important contribution to the household is not at their own expense.

Abstract - This research is motivated by the low level of mastery of the science concept of students in SDNegeri Jagakarsa 02 Pagi, South Jakarta. The low level of mastery of students' concepts is because the teacherin teaching in the class still adheres to the old paradigm of using the lecture method. This can be seen at thebeginning of the study by giving practice questions about the topic of natural resources, the results showedthat the average of all students has not reached the target mastery of the desired concept. Some indicators ofthe concept of the questions given still have not reached the level of mastery. Based on these problems, theremust be an effort to improve the mastery of the science concept of students in grade IV SD Negeri Jagakarsa02 Pagi, South Jakarta. Therefore, the efforts made by researchers on "Application of the Ringing Type TypeModel to Enhance Mastery of Students 'Concepts of Natural Resource Materials" aim to obtain informationand to know the effect of applying the Ringling Button type to students' mastery of natural resource material.The method used in this study is the Classroom Action Research method, with 40 students as subjects. Datacollection techniques used in this study are the results of student learning tests, observation of teacher andstudent activities and questionnaires. In the learning process, students are required to be active, and the use ofimage media that includes it can create a pleasant learning atmosphere. It can be seen from the learningoutcomes and mastery of students' concepts in each concept indicator that it always increases in each cycle.Therefore, the application of the Ringing Button type model is a learning model that is suitable for use inscience learning especially in natural resource materials.Keywords - Clinking Button Type Model, Mastery Concept.Abstrak— Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi rendahnya tingkat penguasaan konsep IPA siswa di SD NegeriJagakarsa 02 Pagi Jakarta Selatan. Rendahnya tingkat penguasaan konsep siswa ini disebabkan karena gurudalam mengajar di dalam kelas masih menganut paradigma lama yaitu menggunakan metode ceramah. Halini terlihat pada saat awal penelitian dengan memberikan latihan soal mengenai topic sumber daya alam,hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa rata-rata dari seluruh siswa belum mencapai target penguasaan konsep yangdiinginkan. Beberapa indicator konsep dari soal yang diberikan masih belum tercapai tingkat penguasaannya.Berdasarkan permasalahan-permasalahan tersebut, harus ada upaya untuk meningkatkan penguasaan konsepIPA siswa di kelas IV SD Negeri Jagakarsa 02 Pagi Jakarta Selatan. Oleh karena itu, upaya yang dilakukanpeneliti yaitu tentang “Penerapan Model Tipe Kancing Gemerincing untuk Meningkatkan PenguasaanKonsep Siswa Materi Sumber Daya Alam” bertujuan untuk memperoleh informasi dan mengetahui pengaruhpenerapan model tipe Kancing Gemerincing terhadap penguasaan konsep siswa pada materi sumber dayaalam. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode Penelitian Tindakan Kelas, dengan subyeksiswa berjumlah 40 orang. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah hasil tesbelajar siswa, observasi aktivitas guru dan siswa serta angket. Dalam proses pembelajarannya, siswa dituntutuntuk aktif, serta penggunaan media gambar yang mencakup di dalamnya dapat membuat suasana belajaryang menyenangkan. Terlihat dari hasil belajar dan penguasaan konsep siswa pada setiap indicator konsepselalu meningkat pada tiap siklusnya. Oleh karena itu, penerapan model tipe Kancing Gemerincingmerupakan model pembelajaran yang cocok digunakan dalam pembelajaran IPA khususnya pada materisumber daya alam.Kata Kunci — Model Tipe Kancing Gemerincing, Penguasaan Konsep

<p><em>This research we conducted with the aim to improve the learning achievements</em><em>of students in mu</em><em>ata</em><em>n Social Science lessons natural resources and</em><em> economic</em><em> activities </em><em>in grade IV semester 2 sd </em><em>Negeri Rawalumbu, </em><em>Researchers use discussion and observation methods as well as media maps and images as an effort to achieve that goal.</em><em> </em><em>From the identification of good data from the observation of learning activities in cycle I, it still has not produced satisfactory results. This can be seen from the average achievement of students who are still under KKM which is 69.28.</em><em> </em><em>While skor learning activity</em><em>is 70.45.</em><em> </em><em>In cycle II, </em><em>theaverage student learning achievement result increased</em><em>above KKM to 7</em><em>7.86.</em><em> </em><em>While skor learning activities</em><em>became </em><em>93.18</em><em>.</em><em> </em><em>Based on the analysis of data in cycles I and II it was concluded that the use of discussion and observation methods as well as map and image media</em><em>improved</em><em>students' learning achievements in</em><em> ips lessons in Natural Resources and</em><em> Economic Activities.</em></p>

Globally, colleges and universities are increasingly mandating sustainability and environmental protection into their practices. To date, such institutions have focused their efforts on recycling and energy-use reduction and less on the management and conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats. However, in an increasingly urbanizing world, well-managed campuses can provide habitat and even refuge for wildlife species. On the campus of a sustainability-minded university in Nigeria, we used camera traps to determine the presence of wildlife and used occupancy modeling to evaluate factors that influenced the detectability and habitat use of two mammals for which we had sufficient detections: White-tailed Mongoose Ichneumia albicauda and Gambian Rat Cricetomys gambianus. Our intent was to gather baseline data on campus wildlife to inform future research and make recommendations for maintaining wildlife populations. We detected wildlife primarily within less-disturbed areas that contained a designated nature area, and the presence of a nature area was the key predictor variable influencing habitat use. No measured variables influenced detectability. This study supports other research that highlights the importance of undisturbed or minimally disturbed natural habitats on university campuses for wildlife, especially in increasingly built-up and developed regions. We recommend that institutions of higher education devote greater resources to making campuses wildlife-friendly and increase opportunities for students to engage in campus-based wildlife research and conservation and other sustainability-related programs.

Ecotourism development is one of the important assets to promote conservation and sustainable economic development in the tourist destinations. The implementation of ecotourism can be initiated through Community-based Ecotourism (CBET). CBET promotes participation in natural and cultural resource management as well as to seek benefits for the economic development of the local community in which ecotourism takes place. However, the implication of CBET in several places is far from the target to achieve sustainability. It was identified that the sustainability was caused by mutual symbiotic and benefits among local economic livelihood, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation. One of the main hindering factors for the implementation of CBET to create mutual symbiotic among those aspects is insufficient social capital. This finding is based on reviews of related literature particularly about social capital in CBET. In addition, social capital and CBET’s main issues in economic, culture and environment were analysed. The result shows that social capital was found important and worthy to be given special attention because it includes basic social features i.e. norms, social trust and networks. For example, the success of CBET can be seen in the case study conducted in Tumani Tenda Camp Village-Gambia, West Africa. It was showed that social capital has created positive impact on economic development, environmental management and cultural preservation. By setting up structured social capital, local people currently have less relied on other villages to provide poultry for the camp and even can sell the surplus. For a high level of social capital, this village has become the first village winning the National Environmental Agency’s competition for ecocamp development in forest program. In terms of cultural preservation, social capital helped villagers in building trust and participation in several rituals or village’s activities. However, conformity and restriction on the norms and rules in the village will be negative consequences of social capital in Tumani Tenda Camp Village. Thus, social capital in CBET should be put into account for its important roles in supporting economic development, environmental management and cultural activities in many other tourism sites.

Angola Opens Congo, Kwanza Blocks in Ongoing Bid Round Angola’s National Oil, Gas, and Biofuel’s Agency has opened blocks for licensing in the Onshore Lower Congo Basin and the Onshore Kwanza Basin as part of its 2020 oil and gas licensing round. This latest call to tender is part of the agency’s ongoing 2019–2025 hydrocarbons licensing strategy. The Onshore Lower Congo Basin Blocks include CON1, CON5, and CON6; while the Onshore Kwanza Basin Blocks comprise KON5, KON6, KON8, KON9, KON17, and KON20. The round aims to expand research and evaluation activities across sedimentary basins, increase geological knowledge of Angola’s hydrocarbon potential, and invite a new wave of explorers to yield new discoveries. Raven Field Startup for BP in Egypt Natural gas has begun flowing from the BP-operated Raven field, the third stage of the company’s major West Nile Delta (WND) development off the Mediterranean coast in Egypt. The $9-billion WND development includes five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks in the Mediterranean Sea. Raven is currently producing approximately 600 MMcf/D with a peak potential of 900 MMcf/D and 30,000 B/D of condensate. Raven follows the Taurus/Libra and Giza/Fayoum projects, which started production in 2017 and 2019, respectively. It produces gas to a new onshore processing facility, alongside the existing WND onshore processing plant. In total, the WND development includes 25 wells producing gas to the onshore processing plant via three long-distance subsea tiebacks. The onshore facilities—including the new Raven facility—now have a total gas processing capacity of around 1.4 Bcf/D of gas. All gas produced is fed into Egypt’s national grid. BP is the operator and has an 82.75% stake in the WND development, with Wintershall Dea holding the remaining 17.25% interest. CGX Secures Rig for Kawa-1 Well off Guyana CGX Energy and Frontera Energy, joint venture partners in the Petroleum Prospecting License for the Corentyne block offshore Guyana, have secured semisubmersible Maersk Discoverer to drill the Kawa-1 well. An early third quarter spud for the exploration well is targeting a Santonian age, stratigraphic trap, interpreted to be analogous to the discoveries immediately to the east on Block 58 in Suriname. The well is anticipated to be drilled to a total depth of approximately 6500 m in a water depth of approximately 370 m. The contract has an estimated duration of 75–85 days and has a one-well option attached. If exercised, that probe would spud in the nearby Demerara Block and take an estimated 40 days to reach its target. Talos’ Bulleit Reservoir in US Gulf Smaller Than Expected A technical assessment of the main producing sand performance at Talos Energy’s Green Canyon Block 21 Bulleit field in the US Gulf has indicated a smaller reservoir than originally anticipated. Project partner Otto Energy said the assessment included detailed bottomhole pressure and reservoir performance data collected after hookup and first production. The Block 21 field is flowing via a single subsea well tied back to a platform in nearby Green Canyon Block 18. While additional technical work is ongoing, the currently favored path forward is to move away from the current sand and execute a recompletion of the well in the shallower DTR-10 sand. A DTR-10 recompletion will require the procurement of long-lead items from manufacturers, which are expected to cost $3.5 million with payment expected in mid-2021. The recompletion is expected to begin in mid-2022, with production from the DTR-10 immediately following in mid-to late 2022. Captain Field EOR Stage 2 Project a Go Ithaca Energy, operator of the Captain field, has sanctioned the Captain Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Stage 2 project in the UK Central North Sea after receiving Field Development Plan Addendum consent from the Oil and Gas Authority. EOR Stage 2 is designed to significantly increase hydrocarbon recovery by injecting polymerized water into the reservoir through additional subsea wells, subsea infrastructure, and new topsides facilities. Stage 1 of the project demonstrated that polymer EOR technology can work, with the production response in line with or better than expected across all injection patterns, helping maximize economic recovery. The Captain field was discovered in 1977, in Block 13/22a located on the edge of the outer Moray Firth. The billion-barrel field achieved first production in March 1997—over 24 years ago. Ithaca Energy holds 85% working interest, while partner Dana Petroleum holds the remaining 15%. Equinor Touts new Tyrihans Field Discovery Equinor and partners Total E&P Norge AS and Vår Energi AS have struck oil and gas in a new segment belonging to the Tyrihans field in the Norwegian Sea. Exploration well 6407/1-A-3 BH in production license 073 was drilled from sub-sea template A at Tyrihans North. The well was drilled to a measured depth of 5332 m by semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Norge and struck a gas column of about 43 m and an oil column of about 15 m in the Ile formation, including about 76 m of moderate to good reservoir quality sandstone. In the Tilje formation, moderate to good quality water-bearing reservoir was struck. The Tyrihans field is in the middle of the Norwegian Sea, some 25 km southeast of the Åsgard field and 220 km northwest of Trondheim. The licensees consider the discovery commercial and intend to start production immediately. Recoverable resources are so far estimated at between 19 and 26 million BOE. Maersk Awarded Intervention Work off Brazil Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract with Karoon Energy Ltd. for the semisubmersible rig Maersk Developer to perform well intervention on four wells at the Baúna field offshore Brazil. The contract is expected to begin in the first half of 2022, with a firm duration of 110 days. The value of the contract is $34 million, including rig modifications and a mobilization fee. The contract contains options to add up to 150 days of drilling work at the Patola and Neon fields. Carnarvon Completes Farmout of Buffalo Project Carnarvon Petroleum has completed the farmout of 50% of the Buffalo project to Advance Energy PLC. On 17 December 2020, Carnarvon announced that Advance Energy would acquire 50% of the Buffalo project off the west coast of Australia by funding the drilling of the Buffalo-10 well up to $20 million on a free carry basis. Advance met this funding requirement and now has a 50% interest in the project. The well is on track to be drilled in late 2021, subject to securing a drilling rig, where the tendering process is already underway. Following the well, the joint venture will acquire development funding from third-party lenders and any additional funding will be provided by Advance as an interest-free loan. The current plan is to suspend a successful well as a future producer and begin early development studies during 2021. Shell Hires Seadrill Rig for Brazilian Campaign Shell has contracted Seadrill’s drillship West Tellus for a new drilling campaign offshore Brazil this year. The program is expected to start in BC-10 of the Campos Basin, where Shell operates the Parque das Conchas made up of the Abalone, Argonauta, and Ostra fields. BC-10 has produced more than 100 million bbl since oil first started flowing from the block in 2009. The drillship will be used on the third phase of BC-10 activity, which includes five additional production wells and two water-injection wells at the Massa and Argonauta O-Sul fields, with the wells connected to the Espirito Santo FPSO. Shell owns a 50% operating stake in BC-10. India’s ONGC retains a 27% minority share and Qatar Petroleum the remaining 23%. Following the BC-10 work, the operator is expected to drill the first wells in the Campos Basin’s C-M-791 block, which was acquired during the 15th bid round held in 2017. Shell owns a 40% operating stake in the block, with Chevron retaining a 40% interest and Portugal’s Galp Energia the remaining 20%. Panoro Energy Kicks Off 2021 Drilling Campaign Offshore Gabon Panoro Energy has initiated its 2021 Gabon drilling campaign with the spudding of the Hibiscus Extension well on the Dussafu Marin Permit. That well will be followed by drilling at Tortue and Hibiscus North. Hibiscus and Tortue are two out of a total of six discovered fields within the Dussafu Permit offshore Gabon. Panoro currently holds a 7.5% interest in the license and has entered into an agreement to acquire an additional 10% working interest in the Dussafu Permit, bringing its total ownership to 17.5% following completion of the transaction. The Extension well is being drilled with the jackup Borr Norve and is the first well in a three-well campaign planned on Dussafu during 2021. The well is planned as a vertical well to test structure, oil, and reservoir presence in what is believed to be a possible northerly extension of the Gamba reservoir in the Hibiscus field. The well is positioned about 3 km northwest of the Hibiscus discovery well drilled by the joint venture in 2019. The initial well and its appraisal sidetrack established a 2P gross recoverable reserves of just over 46 million bbl at the Hibiscus field. The Extension well is expected to take around 30 days to drill and log to a total depth of 3500 m. Success at the probe could prompt one or two appraisal side-tracks to further delineate the field. Following the Hibiscus Extension, the rig will move to drill a horizontal production well, DTM-7H, at the Tortue field. This will complete the Phase 2 development of Tortue and, along with DTM-6H, will bring the total number of production wells at Tortue up to six. An exploration well at the Hibiscus North prospect, located approximately 6 km north-northeast of the initial Hibiscus well is also scheduled. Hibiscus North is a separate 10–40 million bbl prospect that could be tied into the Hibiscus/Ruche development project. Puma West Strike for BP in the US Gulf An exploration well at the Puma West prospect in the deepwater US Gulf has yielded a significant oil discovery for operator BP. The well, on Green Canyon Block 821, was drilled using Seadrill drillship West Auriga to a total depth of 23,530 ft and encountered oil pay in a high-quality Miocene reservoir with fluid properties like productive Miocene reservoirs in the area. Preliminary data supports the potential for a commercial volume of hydrocarbons. The Puma West partners will begin planning an appraisal program to better define the discovered resource. The discovery well has been suspended as a keeper well to preserve future utility. Puma West is located west of the BP-operated Mad Dog field and is approximately 131 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 4,108 ft of water. The Puma West is operated by BP with a 50% working interest. Partners include Chevron with 25% and Talos Energy with the remaining 25%. Petrobras Pushes First Oil at Mero Into 2022 Petrobras has postponed first oil from its Mero 1 field via the FPSO Guanabara in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil due to delays with the production system. Startup at Mero 1 was originally expected in the fourth quarter of this year and is now expected to begin flowing during the first quarter of 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic-related delays with the buildout of the production system in China. The FPSO will be installed in the Mero field, which belongs to the Libra Block, in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, with a processing capacity of 180,000 OPD. The field is operated by Petrobras (40%) in partnership with Shell Brasil Petróleo (20%), Total E&P (20%), CNODC Brasil Petróleo e Gás (10%), CNOOC Petroleum Brasil (10%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo, which is the contract manager.

AbstractNile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is a globally significant aquaculture species rapidly gaining status as a farmed commodity. In West Africa, wild Nile tilapia genetic resources are abundant yet knowledge of fine-scale population structure and patterns of natural genetic variation are limited. Coinciding with this is a burgeoning growth in tilapia aquaculture in Ghana and other countries within the region underpinned by locally available genetic resources. Using 192 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers this study conducted a genetic survey of Nile tilapia throughout West Africa, sampling 23 wild populations across eight countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Mali, Gambia and Senegal), representing the major catchments of the Volta, Niger, Senegal and Gambia River basins. A pattern of isolation-by-distance and significant spatial genetic structure was identified throughout West Africa (Global FST = 0.144), which largely corresponds to major river basins and, to a lesser extent, sub-basins. Two populations from the Gambia River (Kudang and Walekounda), one from the western Niger River (Lake Sélingué) and one from the upper Red Volta River (Kongoussi) showed markedly lower levels of diversity and high genetic differentiation compared to all other populations, suggesting genetically isolated populations occurring across the region. Genetic structure within the Volta Basin did not always follow the pattern expected for sub-river basins. This study identifies clear genetic structuring and differentiation amongst West African Nile tilapia populations, which concur with broad patterns found in previous studies. In addition, we provide new evidence for fine-scale genetic structuring within the Volta Basin and previously unidentified genetic differences of populations in Gambia. The 192 SNP marker suite used in this study is a useful tool for differentiating tilapia populations and we recommend incorporating this marker suite into future population screening of O. niloticus. Our results form the basis of a solid platform for future research on wild tilapia genetic resources in West Africa, and the identification of potentially valuable germplasm for use in ongoing breeding programs for aquaculture.

Water is essential for human life, the socio-economic improvement of the state and the protection of its natural environment. Senegal has a rich and diversified hydrological potential, most of whose surface water reserves are located in the basins of the Senegal and Gambia rivers and in groundwater. Unfortunately, water resources can be threatened by anthropogenic actions of various origins and by the adverse effects of climate change. This article aims to analyze the current state of water resources, water problems and prospects for the sustainable development of water resources in Senegal. Information is collected from secondary sources and available statistics (books and the Internet). The results show the importance of Senegal's water resources potential (in terms of surface and groundwater), water resources that are often severely deteriorated due to pollution, agricultural activities and the rised water demand from the population. This degradation is likely to worsen with population growth, development and climate change. For example, the Senegalese government has been conducting a water control policy for several decades aimed at providing the various sectors with water in sufficient quantity and of appropriate quality according to custom to accelerate development balanced. There are several policies and actions for the formulation of rules and regulations on the general use of water. To be in line with the sustainable development goals (SDG), including SDG 6, Senegal is committed to the sustainable management of water resources to ensure universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all population by 2030.

Indonesia is one of tropical countries that rich in natural resources. It has more than a thousand of medicinal plants. This study focused on assessing the potential of phytochemical content gambir leaves from Southeast Aceh as an alternative of antidiabetes through inhibition of alpha amylase enzyme. Steps of research to be conducted consist of: (1) Making dry simplisia from gambir leaves; extraction of gambir leaves by maceration for 2x24 hours and screening done every 24 hours, and solvent evaporation to obtain the dry extract of gambir; (2) Analysis of phytochemical (phenolic, flavonoid and tannin) content of ethanol extract of gambir leaves; and (3) Analysis of chemical components using GC-MS. The results showed that the moisture content of powder gambir leaves was 3,017%, which is still below the national standard. The ethanol extract contained a rendement of 2,47 gr / gr of dry weight. The inhibition activity of alpha amylase enzyme was obtained at a sample concentration of 1000 ppm , e.i 88.22%. The more active a sample in inhibiting the action of the alpha-amylase enzyme, the less the 3-amino-5-nitrosalisilic acid formed in the second stage of enzyme activation. The results of phytochemicalanalysis of ethanol extract of gambir leaves from Southeast Aceh showed secondary metabolite content such as Total Phenolic, Total Flavonoid, and Tanin respectively of 71, 80; 32, 06 and 58.39%. The chemical components, e.i the total phenolics, flavonoids and tannins have been reported to have antidiabetic activity by lowering blood sugar levels after inhibition testing via the alpha amylase enzyme.

AbstractIbM activities in Bahoi Village have been implemented to promote the potential of marine ecotourism. The sustainability of coastal resources with 4 ecosystems (beaches, mangrove, seagrass, and coral reefs) is the spearhead of marine ecotourism promotion. The openness of the people of Bahoi Village to receive domestic and foreign guests as well as road infrastructure to the village also become a plus attraction in promotional activities.In addition to promotional enhancement, training activities are also carried out by the Team of Dikti Dikti Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science UNSRAT. Training activities referred to, namely graphic photo training and image processing for the purpose of marine ecotourism promotion. Activities intended for the village community after completion of this activity, can up to date information about marine ecotourism, both information photo natural resources, as well as documentation of social and cultural activities that can attract tourists through promotional efforts. Promotion is also done through mass media (Our Newspapers, Posters, and Neon Box).The result of devotion has been done by IbM Team, it can be concluded: 1) The potential of marine ecotourism in Bahoi Village has not been maximally promoted, although there have been several visits from domestic and foreign tourists, 2) Completeness of tropical coastal ecosystem which is still preserved in Bahoi Village besides potential for maritime tourism, also highly compatible for research or educational purposes, 3) promotional activities through personal contacts, has resulted in visits from US tourists for snorkeling and German tourists for research purposes; and 4) results of the IbM Team's promotion to FPIK UNSRAT , has resulted in student visits doing practical activities, so that people's income can be increased through the provision of accommodation and consumption. Likewise, tourists who come for diving and snorkeling contribute not only accommodation and consumption, as well as diving equipment rental.The result of this activity requires several follow up actions: 1) the need for District level Government support for the regulation and sanction of coastal environment protection of Bahoi Village; and 2) The need for proposed research activities related to the capacity building of village communities in supporting marine ecotourism. Keywords: coastal ecosystem, ecotourism, promotion, income AbstrakKegiatan IbM di Desa Bahoi telah terlaksana untuk mempromosikan potensi ekowisata bahari. Kelestarian sumberdaya wilayah pesisir dengan 4 ekosistem (pantai, mangrove, lamun, dan terumbu karang) merupakan ujung tombak promosi ekowisata bahari. Keterbukaan masyarakat Desa Bahoi menerima tamu domestik dan manca negara serta infrastruktur jalan raya menuju desa turut menjadi daya tarik plus pada kegiatan promosi.Selain peningkatan promosi, kegiatan pelatihan juga dilaksanakan oleh Tim IbM Dikti Fakultas Perikanan danIlmu Kelautan UNSRAT. Kegiatan pelatihan dimaksud, yaitu pelatihan foto grafi dan pengolahan gambar untuk tujuan promosi ekowisata bahari. Kegiatan dimaksudkan agar masyarakat desa setelah selesai kegiatan ini, dapat meng-up to date informasi tentang ekowisata bahari, baik informasi foto sumberdaya alam, maupun dokumentasi aktivitas sosial dan budaya yang dapat menarik wisatawan melalui usaha promosi. Promosi juga dilakukan melalui media massa (Koran SWARA Kita, Poster, dan Neon Box).Hasil pengabdian yang telah dilakukan oleh Tim IbM, dapat disimpulkan : 1) Potensi ekowisata bahari di Desa Bahoi belum maksimal dipromosikan, walaupun sudah ada beberapa kunjungan dari wisatawan domestik dan manca negara, 2) Kelengkapan eksosistem pesisir tropis yang masih terpelihara di Desa Bahoi selain potensial untuk wisata bahari, juga sangat kompetibel untuk kepentingan penelitian atau wisata pendidikan, 3) Kegiatan peningkatan promosi melalui hubungan personal, telah menghasilkan kunjungan dari turis Amerika Serikat untuk tujuan snorkling dan turis Jerman untuk tujuan penelitian, dan 4) Hasil promosi Tim IbM ke FPIK UNSRAT, telah menghasilkan kunjungan mahasiswa melakukan kegiatan praktek, sehingga pendapatan masyarakat dapat meningkat melalui penyediaan akomodasi dan konsumsi. Demikian juga turis yang datang untuk penyelaman dan snorkling memberikan kontribusi bukan saja akomodasi dan konsumsi, juga penyewaan peralatan selam.Hasil kegiatan ini memerlukan beberapa tindak lanjut berupa : 1) perlu adanya dukungan Pemerintah setingkat Kabupaten untuk peraturan dan sanksi perlindungan lingkungan pesisir Desa Bahoi; dan 2) Perlunya usulan kegiatan penelitian terkait pengembangan kapasitas masyarakat desa dalam menunjang ekosiwisata bahari. Kata Kunci: ekosistem pesisir, ekowisata, promosi, pendapatan

When historian Graeme Davison famously declared that “Australia was born urban and quickly grew suburban” (98), he was clearly referring to Melbourne or Sydney, but certainly not Brisbane. Although the Brisbane of 2011 might resemble a contemporary, thriving metropolis, its genealogy is not an urban one. For most of its history, as Gillian Whitlock has noted, Brisbane was “a place where urban industrial society is kept at bay” (80). What distinguishes Brisbane from Australia’s larger southern capital cities is its rapid morphology into a city from a provincial, suburban, town. Indeed it is Brisbane’s distinctive regionalism, with its sub-tropical climate, offering a steamy, fecund backdrop to narratives of the city that has produced a plethora of writing in literary accounts of the city, from author David Malouf through to contemporary writers such as Andrew McGahan, John Birmingham, Venero Armanno, Susan Johnson, and Nick Earls. Brisbane’s lack of urban tradition makes its transformation unique among Australian cities. Its rapid population growth and urban development have changed the way that many people now live in the city. Unlike the larger cities of Sydney or Melbourne, whose inner cities were established on the Victorian model of terrace-row housing on small lots, Brisbane’s early planners eschewed this approach. So, one of the features that gives the city its distinction is the languorous suburban quality of its inner-city areas, where many house blocks are the size of the suburban quarter-acre block, all within coo-ee of the city centre. Other allotments are medium to small in size, and, until recently, housed single dwellings of varying sizes and grandeur. Add to this a sub-tropical climate in which ‘green and growth’ is abundant and the pretty but flimsy timber vernacular housing, and it’s easy to imagine that you might be many kilometres from a major metropolitan centre as you walk around Brisbane’s inner city areas. It is partly this feature that prompted demographer Bernard Salt to declare Brisbane “Australia’s most suburban city” (Salt 5). Prior to urban renewal in the early 1990s, Brisbane was a low-density town with very few apartment blocks; most people lived in standalone houses.From the inception of the first Urban Renewal program in 1992, a joint initiative of the Federal government’s Building Better Cities Program and managed by the Brisbane City Council (BCC), Brisbane’s urban development has undergone significant change. In particular, the city’s Central Business District (CBD) and inner city have experienced intense development and densification with a sharp rise in medium- to high-density apartment dwellings to accommodate the city’s swelling population. Population growth has added to the demand for increased density, and from the period 1995–2006 Brisbane was Australia’s fastest growing city (ABS).Today, parts of Brisbane’s inner city resembles the density of the larger cities of Melbourne and Sydney. Apartment blocks have mushroomed along the riverfront and throughout inner and middle ring suburbs. Brisbane’s population has enthusiastically embraced apartment living, with “empty nesters” leaving their suburban family homes for the city, and apartments have become the affordable option for renters and first home purchasers. A significant increase in urban amenities such as large-scale parklands and river side boardwalks, and a growth in service industries such as cafes, restaurants and bars—a feature of cities the world over—have contributed to the appeal of the city and the changing way that people live in Brisbane.Urbanism demands specific techniques of living—life is different in medium- to high-density dwellings, in populous places, where people live in close proximity to one another. In many ways it’s the antithesis to suburban life, a way of living that, as Davison notes, was established around an ethos of privacy, health, and seclusion and is exemplified in the gated communities seen in the suburbs today. The suburbs are characterised by generosity of space and land, and developed as a refuge and escape from the city, a legacy of the nineteenth-century industrial city’s connection with overcrowding, disease, and disorder. Suburban living flourished in Australia from the eighteenth century and Davison notes how, when Governor Phillip drew up the first town plan for Sydney in 1789, it embodied the aspirations of “decency, good order, health and domestic privacy,” which lie at the heart of suburban ideals (100).The health and moral impetus underpinning the establishment of suburban life—that is, to remove people from overcrowding and the unhygienic conditions of slums—for Davison meant that the suburban ethos was based on a “logic of avoidance” (110). Attempting to banish anything deemed dangerous and offensive, the suburbs were seen to offer a more natural, orderly, and healthy environment. A virtuous and happy life required plenty of room—thus, a garden and the expectation of privacy was paramount.The suburbs as a site of lived experience and cultural meaning is significant for understanding the shift from suburban living to the adoption of medium- to high-density inner-city living in Brisbane. I suggest that the ways in which this shift is captured discursively, particularly in promotional material, are indicative of the suburbs' stronghold on the collective imagination. Reinforcing this perception of Brisbane as a suburban city is a history of literary narratives that have cast Brisbane in ways that set it apart from other Australian cities, and that are to do with its non-urban characteristics. Imaginative and symbolic discourses of place have real and material consequences (Lefebvre), as advertisers are only too well aware. Discursively, city life has been imagined oppositionally from life in the suburbs: the two sites embody different cultural meanings and values. In Australia, the suburbs are frequently a site of derision and satire, characterized as bastions of conformity and materialism (Horne), offering little of value in contrast to the city’s many enchantments and diverse pleasures. In the well-established tradition of satire, “suburban bashing is replete in literature, film and popular culture” (Felton et al xx). From Barry Humphries’s characterisation of Dame Edna Everage, housewife superstar, who first appeared in the 1960s, to the recent television comedy series Kath and Kim, suburbia and its inhabitants are represented as dull-witted, obsessed with trivia, and unworldly. This article does not intend to rehearse the tradition of suburban lampooning; rather, it seeks to illustrate how ideas about suburban living are hard held and how the suburban ethos maintains its grip, particularly in relation to notions of privacy and peace, despite the celebratory discourse around the emerging forms of urbanism in Brisbane.As Brisbane morphed rapidly from a provincial, suburban town to a metropolis throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, a set of metropolitan discourses developed in the local media that presented new ways of inhabiting and imagining the city and offered new affiliations and identifications with the city. In establishing Brisbane’s distinction as a city, marketing material relied heavily on the opposition between the city and the suburbs, implying that urban vitality and diversity rules triumphant over the suburbs’ apparent dullness and homogeneity. In a billboard advertisement for apartments in the urban renewal area of Newstead (2004), images of architectural renderings of the apartments were anchored by the words—“Urban living NOT suburban”—leaving little room for doubt. It is not the design qualities of the apartments or the building itself being promoted here, but a way of life that alludes to utopian ideas of urban life, of enchantment with the city, and implies, with the heavy emphasis of “NOT suburban,” the inferiority of suburban living.The cultural commodification of the late twentieth- and twenty-first-century city has been well documented (Evans; Dear; Zukin; Harvey) and its symbolic value as a commodity is expressed in marketing literature via familiar metropolitan tropes that are frequently amorphous and international. The malleability of such images makes them easily transportable and transposable, and they provided a useful stockpile for promoting a city such as Brisbane that lacked its own urban resources with which to construct a new identity. In the early days of urban renewal, the iconic images and references to powerhouse cities such as New York, London, and even Venice were heavily relied upon. In the latter example, an advertisement promoting Brisbane appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald colour magazine (May 2005). This advertisement represented Brisbane as an antipodean Venice, showing a large reach of the Brisbane river replete with gondolas flanked by the city’s only nineteenth-century riverside building, the Custom’s House. The allusion to traditional European culture is a departure from the usual tropes of “fun and sun” associated with promotions of Queensland, including Brisbane, while the new approach to promoting Brisbane is cognizant of the value of culture in the symbolic and economic hierarchy of the contemporary city. Perhaps equally, the advertisement could be read as ironic, a postmodern self-parodying statement about the city in general. In a nod to the centrality of the spectacle, the advertisement might be a salute to idea of the city as theme park, a pleasure playground and a collective fantasy of escape. Nonetheless, either interpretation presents Brisbane as somewhere else.In other promotional literature for apartment dwellings, suburban living maintains its imaginative grip, evident in a brochure advertising Petrie Point apartments in Brisbane’s urban renewal area of inner-city New Farm (2000). In the brochure, the promise of peace and calm—ideals that have their basis in suburban living—are imposed and promoted as a feature of inner-city living. Paradoxically, while suggesting that a wholesale evacuation and rejection of suburban life is occurring presumably because it is dull, the brochure simultaneously upholds the values of suburbia:Discerning baby boomers and generation X’ers who prefer lounging over latte rather than mowing the quarter acre block, are abandoning suburban living in droves. Instead, hankering after a more cosmopolitan lifestyle without the mind numbing drive to work, they are retreating to the residential mecca, the inner city, for chic shops and a lively dining, arts and theatre culture. (my italics)In the above extract, the rhetoric used to promote and uphold the virtues of a cosmopolitan inner-city life is sabotaged by a language that in many respects capitulates to the ideals of suburban living, and evokes the health and retreat ethos of suburbia. “Lounging” over lattes and “retreating to a residential mecca”[i] allude to precisely the type of suburban living the brochure purports to eschew. Privacy, relaxation, and health is a discourse and, more importantly, a way of living that is in many ways anathema to life in the city. It is a dream-wish that those features most valued about suburban life, can and should somehow be transplanted to the city. In its promotion of urban amenity, the brochure draws upon a somewhat bourgeois collection of cultural amenities and activities such as a (presumably traditional) arts and theatre culture, “lively dining,” and “chic” shops. The appeal to “discerning baby boomers and generation X’ers” has more than a whiff of status and class, an appeal that disavows the contemporary city’s attention to diversity and inclusivity, and frequently the source of promotion of many international cities. In contrast to the suburban sub-text of exclusivity and seclusion in the Petrie Point Apartment’s brochure, is a promotion of Sydney’s inner-city Newtown as a tourist site and spectacle, which makes an appeal to suburban antipathy clear from the outset. The brochure, distributed by NSW Tourism (2000) displays a strong emphasis on Newtown’s cultural and ethnic diversity, and the various forms of cultural consumption on offer. The inner-city suburb’s appeal is based on its re-framing as a site of tourist consumption of diversity and difference in which diversity is central to its performance as a tourist site. It relies on the distinction between “ordinary” suburbs and “cosmopolitan” places:Some cities are cursed with suburbs, but Sydney’s blessed with Newtown — a cosmopolitan neighbourhood of more than 600 stores, 70 restaurants, 42 cafes, theatres, pubs, and entertainment venues, all trading in two streets whose origins lie in the nineteenth century … Newtown is the Catwalk for those with more style than money … a parade where Yves St Laurent meets Saint Vincent de Paul, where Milano meets post-punk bohemia, where Max Mara meets Doc Marten, a stage where a petticoat is more likely to be your grandma’s than a Colette Dinnigan designer original (From Sydney Marketing brochure)Its opening oppositional gambit—“some cities are cursed with suburbs”—conveniently elides the fact that like all Australian cities, Sydney is largely suburban and many of Sydney’s suburbs are more ethnically diverse than its inner-city areas. Cabramatta, Fairfield, and most other suburbs have characteristically high numbers of ethnic groups such as Vietnamese, Korean, Lebanese, and so forth. Recent events, however, have helped to reframe these places as problem areas, rather than epicentres of diversity.The mingling of social groups invites the tourist-flâneur to a performance of difference, “a parade where Yves St Laurent meets Saint Vincent de Paul (my italics), where Milano meets post-punk bohemia,” and where “the upwardly mobile and down at heel” appear in what is presented as something of a theatrical extravaganza. Newtown is a product, its diversity a commodity. Consumed visually and corporeally via its divergent sights, sounds, smells and tastes (the brochure goes on to state that 70 restaurants offer cuisine from all over the globe), Newtown is a “successful neighbourhood experiment in the new globalism.” The area’s social inequities—which are implicit in the text, referred to as the “down at heel”—are vanquished and celebrated, incorporated into the rhetoric of difference.Brisbane’s lack of urban tradition and culture, as well as its lack of diversity in comparison to Sydney, reveals itself in the first brochure while the Newtown brochure appeals to the idea of a consumer-based cosmopolitanism. As a sociological concept, cosmopolitanism refers to a set of "subjective attitudes, outlooks and practices" broadly characterized as “disposition of openness towards others, people, things and experiences whose origin is non local” (Skrbis and Woodward 1). Clearly cosmopolitan attitudes do not have to be geographically located, but frequently the city is promoted as the site of these values, with the suburbs, apparently, forever looking inward.In the realm of marketing, appeals to the imagination are ubiquitous, but discursive practices can become embedded in everyday life. Despite the growth of urbanism, the increasing take up of metropolitan life and the enduring disdain among some for the suburbs, the hard-held suburban values of peace and privacy have pragmatic implications for the ways in which those values are embedded in people’s expectations of life in the inner city.The exponential growth in apartment living in Brisbane offers different ways of living to the suburban house. For a sub-tropical city where "life on the verandah" is a significant feature of the Queenslander house with its front and exterior verandahs, in the suburbs, a reasonable degree of privacy is assured. Much of Brisbane’s vernacular and contemporary housing is sensitive to this indoor-outdoor style of living, a distinct feature and appeal of everyday life in many suburbs. When "life on the verandah" is adapted to inner-city apartment buildings, expectations that indoor-outdoor living can be maintained in the same way can be problematic. In the inner city, life on the verandah may challenge expectations about privacy, noise and visual elements. While the Brisbane City Plan 2000 attempts to deal with privacy issues by mandating privacy screenings on verandahs, and the side screening of windows to prevent overlooking neighbours, there is ample evidence that attitudinal change is difficult. The exchange of a suburban lifestyle for an urban one, with the exposure to urbanity’s complexity, potential chaos and noise, can be confronting. In the Urban Renewal area and entertainment precinct of Fortitude Valley, during the late 1990s, several newly arrived residents mounted a vigorous campaign to the Brisbane City Council (BCC) and State government to have noise levels reduced from local nightclubs and bars. Fortitude Valley—the Valley, as it is known locally—had long been Brisbane’s main area for nightclubs, bars and brothels. A small precinct bounded by two major one-way roads, it was the locus of the infamous ABC 4 Corners “Moonlight State” report, which exposed the lines of corruption between politicians, police, and the judiciary of the former Bjelke-Petersen government (1974–1987) and who met in the Valley’s bars and brothels. The Valley was notorious for Brisbanites as the only place in a provincial, suburban town that resembled the seedy side of life associated with big cities. The BCC’s Urban Renewal Task Force and associated developers initially had a tough task convincing people that the area had been transformed. But as more amenity was established, and old buildings were converted to warehouse-style living in the pattern of gentrification the world over, people started moving in to the area from the suburbs and interstate (Felton). One of the resident campaigners against noise had purchased an apartment in the Sun Building, a former newspaper house and in which one of the apartment walls directly abutted the adjoining and popular nightclub, The Press Club. The Valley’s location as a music venue was supported by the BCC, who initially responded to residents’ noise complaints with its “loud and proud” campaign (Valley Metro). The focus of the campaign was to alert people moving into the newly converted apartments in the Valley to the existing use of the neighbourhood by musicians and music clubs. In another iteration of this campaign, the BCC worked with owners of music venues to ensure the area remains a viable music precinct while implementing restrictions on noise levels. Residents who objected to nightclub noise clearly failed to consider the impact of moving into an area that was already well known, even a decade ago, as the city’s premier precinct for music and entertainment venues. Since that time, the Valley has become Australia’s only regulated and promoted music precinct.The shift from suburban to urban living requires people to live in very different ways. Thrust into close proximity with strangers amongst a diverse population, residents can be confronted with a myriad of sensory inputs—to a cacophony of noise, sights, smells (Allon and Anderson). Expectations of order, retreat, and privacy inevitably come into conflict with urbanism’s inherent messiness. The contested nature of urban space is expressed in neighbour disputes, complaints about noise and visual amenity, and sometimes in eruptions of street violence. There is no shortage of examples in the Brisbane’s Urban Renewal areas such as Fortitude Valley, where acts of homophobia, racism, and other less destructive conflicts continue to be a frequent occurrence. While the refashioned discursive Brisbane is re-presented as cool, cultured, and creative, the tensions of urbanism and tests to civility remain in a process of constant negotiation. This is the way the city’s past disrupts and resists its cool new surface.[i] The use of the word mecca in the brochure occurred prior to 11 September 2001.ReferencesAllon, Fiona, and Kay Anderson. "Sentient Sydney." In Passionate City: An International Symposium. Melbourne: RMIT, School of Media Communication, 2004. 89–97.Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Regional Population Growth, Australia, 1996-2006.Birmingham, John. 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