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Sustainability 2012, 4(12), 3326-3345; https://doi.org/10.3390/su4123326
Institutions and Ecosystem-Based Development Potentials of the Elephant Marsh, Malawi
The Polytechnic, Department of Physics and Biochemical Sciences, University of Malawi, Private Bag 303, Blantyre 3, Malawi
Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
Institute for Science and Innovation Studies, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Department of Economics, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, P.O. Box 280, Zomba, Malawi
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 22 October 2012; in revised form: 20 November 2012 / Accepted: 21 November 2012 / Published: 7 December 2012
The Elephant Marsh, a wetland in Southern Malawi, is important for fishing, agriculture, hunting and the collection of natural resources for the livelihoods of local communities. However, there has been increasing pressure driven by a changing climate, population growth, rural poverty and agricultural conversion, all of which threaten the future of the wetland. Currently, Malawi does not have either a national wetland policy or a climate change policy and wetland issues are only marginally present in the National Parks and Wildlife Policy of 2000 and National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy of 2001. As a result, the country lacks a framework that could be strong enough to achieve balanced and sustainable wetland management for multiple resource users. The objective of this study was to establish the development potentials of Elephant Marsh from an ecosystem-based ('working-with-nature') perspective. It was revealed that there are development potentials in fisheries, recession agriculture, biomass for energy, conservation and tourism. This paper emphasizes that as these opportunities are developed, there will be the need to strengthen management institutions at local and national levels, and the coordination between the two.
Keywords:Elephant Marsh; wetland; Malawi; local institutions; ecosystem-based management; livelihoods; co-management
1. Introduction
Wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems cover about 20% of Malawi's surface area. The 1971 Ramsar Convention, of which Malawi is a party, defines a wetland as any area of marsh, fern, peat, land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salty, including areas of marine waters, the depth of which does not exceed six meters at low tide. As Turner et al. [1] observed, wetlands are the only single group of ecosystems that have their own global framework for conservation and wise use (maintenance of the ecological character). For a wetland to qualify as a designated Ramsar site, it has to exhibit unique ecological, botanical, zoological, limnological or hydrological importance. In Malawi, only Lake Chilwa (224,800 hectares) has been designated as a Ramsar site.
Despite its long history and importance, the Elephant Marsh in southern Malawi is not designated as a Ramsar site. It is also one of the least studied wetlands in Malawi. The publications that do exist [2,3,4] focus almost entirely on fisheries management. In 2004, an inventory was made of potential strategies for the management of crocodiles and hippopotamus in the Lower Shire region of Malawi that included the Elephant Marsh [5]. This inventory however lacks attention on the integration of conservation with local livelihoods, as is the case in ecosystem-based management.
Ecosystem-based management is commonly defined as an integrated, science-based approach to the management of natural resources that aims to sustain the health, resilience and diversity of ecosystems while allowing for sustainable use by humans of the goods and services they provide [6]. This definition imparts a holistic vision of ecosystem management by including humans as the users of goods and services. The introduction of humans into the approach necessitates the need to include human values such as equity, socioeconomic and cultural values as well as the harmony of their interrelationships. This perspective also implies the principle of integrated river basin management that involves a comprehensive inclusion of all land and water services (such as transport and fisheries), planning and regulation of human activities towards a complex set of interacting objectives to ensure long-term sustainability [6]. It simultaneously looks at all economic water-related sectors such as fisheries, water supply, agriculture and tourism, and recognizes the implications that originate from multiple functions of a resource. Thus, ecosystem-based management moves away from looking at human needs first (e.g. food and revenues) and then incorporating nature into these needs. Rather, it first takes stock of both the human and ecosystem needs and potentials and then tries to strike a sustainable balance of utilization. In philosophical terms, ecosystem-based management expresses a vision of 'partnership with nature' rather than the traditional attitude of 'mastery over nature' [7] and its success relies on a well coordinated policy framework.
Malawi does not have a national wetland policy and issues of wetlands (and floodplains) are only marginally present in the National Parks and Wildlife Policy [8], and in the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy [9]. As a result, the country lacks a management framework strong enough to enforce a balanced and sustainable wetland development under rising pressures such as overexploitation and agricultural conversion which are mainly driven by population growth, rural poverty, climate change and market growth. In Elephant Marsh, additional drivers include fluctuation in water levels caused mainly by hydroelectric power generation at Kapichira Dam and the abstraction of water for irrigation by Illovo sugar estate; both located upstream. Moreover, the coordination of the roles of the various stakeholders in wetland management at Elephant Marsh is not very clear or stable.
One specific purpose of the paper is to analyze the ecosystem-based potentials of the marsh as one way of assisting local communities in sustainably exploiting goods and services from the Elephant Marsh. Local communities have been engaging themselves in initiatives for wetland protection such as restoration of river banks thereby demonstrating their awareness of the value of the wetland. As such, an overview of the opportunities that lie at the Elephant Marsh is important for any balanced development planning of the area. The second specific purpose of the paper is to highlight existing local institutions pertaining to the management of the marsh. In order to avoid overexploitation, future development options will have to be efficient and effective. There is a need to build on local institutions; for example, as partners in co-management arrangements.
2. Location and Ecology
Elephant Marsh is located on the East African Rift Valley floor in the southern part of Malawi (14°25'–17°50'S and 35°15'–35°15'E), see Figure 1. It covers an average area of about 600 km2, although actual size varies from about 2700 km2 in the wet season to 500 km2 in the dry season [2,10]. The variation creates season-oriented pressure on the ecosystem goods and services that communities can draw from the wetland. The Elephant Marsh straddles the administrative districts of Chikhwawa and Nsanje, which fortunately follow similar institutional arrangements and therefore no major trans-district problems arise. The region has an average altitude of 500 m above sea level and an annual precipitation range of 560 to 960 mm. The mean annual precipitation in Malawi is 1180 mm and the altitude ranges from 50 m asl to 3000 m asl. Four hydro-climatic seasons are identified, comprising (1) hot, dry weather with low river levels from July to September, (2) hot, windy, wet weather from October to December, (3) hot, humid, wet weather from January to March, and (4) humid, cool weather from April to June [2].
The marsh is fed by the Shire River, the only outlet of Lake Malawi, which flows through it in a southerly direction before joining the Zambezi river in Mozambique. It extends from the south eastern part of Illovo sugar estate to just above the confluence of Shire River and Ruo River at Chiromo. Since the Ruo River has a less buffered flow regime than the Shire, its peak flow levels can rise above those of the Shire's, causing backflow into the marsh, sometimes (1950, 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2012) with substantial flood damage [11].
Figure 1. Map of southern Malawi showing the position of Elephant Marsh. Source: [12].
The marsh has relatively grassy margins but the bulk of its surface is formed by a mosaic of rooted swamp vegetation (sudd), floating vegetation and open water. In the southern part, this pattern is interspersed with islands with saline soils and palm trees. Table 1 shows the typical flora and fauna found at the Elephant Marsh.
|Scientific Name
|English Name
|Nymphaea odorata
|Water Lily
|Eichhornia crassipes
|water hyacinth
|Pistia stratiotes
|Water Lettuce
|Azolla nilotica and Salvinia molesta
|Floating Ferns
|Phragmites australis
|Common Reed
|Vossia cuspidata
|Hippo Grass
|Typha domingensis
|Cyperus papyrus
|Cyperus procerus
|Lonchocarpus capassa
|Apple Leaf
|Utricularia inflexa
|Hyphaene benguellensis
|Vegetable-ivory Palm
|Ardea purpurea
|Purple Heron
|Butorides striata
|Green-backed Heron
|Ardea goliath
|Goliath Heron
|Nettapus auritus
|African Pygmy Goose
|Anas undulate
|Yellow-billed Duck
|Erythrocercus livingstonei
|Livingstone's Flycatcher
|Scotopelia peli
|Pel's Fishing-owl
|Telecanthura ussheri
|Mottled Spinetail
|Phalacrocorax lucidus
|White-breasted Cormorant
|Haliaeetus vocifer
|African Fish Eagle
|Alcedo atthis
|Common Kingfisher
|Alcedo cristata
|Malachite Kingfisher
|Anaplectes rubriceps
|Red-headed Weaver
|Ploceus cucullatus
|Village Weaver
|Tringa totanus
|Common Redshank
|Tringa nebularia
|Common Greenshank
|Bubulcus ibis
|Cattle Egret
|Merops boehmi
|Boehm's Bee-eater
|Tchagra minuta
|Marsh Tchagra
|Estrilda astrild
|Common Waxbill
|Actophilornis africanus
|African Lily-trotter
|Actitis hypoleucos
|Common Sandpiper
|Tringa stagnatilis
|Marsh Sandpiper
|Rostratula benghalensis
|Greater painted Snipe
|Philomachus pugnax
|Macronyx croceus
|Yellow-throated Longclaw
|Glareola pratincola
|Collared Pratincole
|Acrocephalus palustris
|Marsh Warbler
|Mycteria ibis
|Yellow-billed Stork
|Ardeola ralloides
|Squacco Heron
|Asio capensis
|Marsh Owl
|Rynchops flavirostris
|African Skimmer
|Crocodylus niloticus
|Nile Crocodile
|Hippopotamus amphibius
The Elephant Marsh is also home to several species of fish, out of which Clarias gariepinus (locally known as mlamba), Oreochromis mossambicus (chambo), Oreochromis placidus (makumba), and Barbus ssp. (matemba) comprise over 90 percent of the commercial catch [15]. The Elephant Marsh traps a big amount of sediment each year, making water downstream clearer and less polluted. The wetland also acts as an ecological barrier between Barbus johnstonii (Cyprinidae family) of Lake Malawi and Upper Shire, and Barbus marequensis of the Lower Shire and Zambezi [16].
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list identifies Rynchops flavirostris (African skimmer) and Oreochromis mossambicus (chambo) as species under threat in its natural range while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list includes Crocodylus niloticus (Nile crocodile) and Hippopotamus amphibius (hippopotamus). The Elephant Marsh is therefore a very important habitat for these species.
3. Ecosystem Services
Wetlands are important for many ecosystem services, such as fisheries, agriculture, livestock grazing, (eco) tourism, water supply, water purification, carbon sequestration, wildlife goods, biodiversity, and transport. Quite often however, wetlands are subjected to a development paradigm that maximizes the one or two ecosystem services for which markets are readily available such as cash crop production [17].
The Elephant Marsh wetland is one of the most productive ecosystems in Malawi, contributing to the livelihoods of thousands of households in Chikhwawa and Nsanje districts [18]. Agricultural production in and around the wetland relies on the wetland's year-round moisture and the fertile alluvial soils. Rainfall is usually erratic and rain-fed agriculture is becoming less reliable. The high productivity of the soils has been one of the major attractive factors for human settlement around the wetland since as early as the 3rd century AD [19]. With a natural population growth of 2.8% and an influx of people from upland and other districts such as Blantyre, Thyolo and Mulanje [20] coupled with rising poverty in Malawi, where 74 per cent of the population is living below the income poverty line of US$1.25 a day [21], pressure to convert the wetland to agricultural land is likely to increase. The 2008 population and housing census report for Malawi indicates that about 100,000 people had immigrated to Chikhwawa and Nsanje districts between 1998 and 2008 [20]. This represents about 14% of the original population thereby creating more pressure on the ecosystem goods and services of the Elephant Marsh.
Fisheries are an important sector of the Elephant Marsh. For Malawi as a whole, fish contribute 60 percent of the animal protein intake [2], and the fisheries industry directly employs over 60,000 people, and indirectly engages 500,000 beneficiaries through fish processing, transportation, marketing, as well as boat building and repairs [22,23]. Fishing mostly occurs between April and July when flood waters are receding and the fish becomes easier to catch. The annual fish production from around the Elephant Marsh has been estimated at an average of 8500 tonnes [10]. This figure possibly includes the lower sections of the Shire River downstream from Elephant Marsh but generally indicates an annual production of 141.7 kg/ha. There are no recent data on the economic value of fisheries exploitation at the Elephant Marsh partly due to lack national interest in carrying out research on common pool resources such as the Elephant Marsh. Unfortunately, such data is very important for future impact assessment studies. Based on 1990 data on production and market prices, the economic value of Elephant Marsh fisheries was estimated at US$ 1.1 million per year [24]. Fish prices change quite fast in Malawi. For instance, the average fish price at rural markets in Malawi rose from MK 88.05 (US$ 0.53)/kg in 1999 [25] to MK 210.19 (US$ 1.29)/kg in 2001 [26] implying that fisheries value at the Elephant Marsh is certainly higher at present than in 1990.
Fishing is complemented by recession agriculture in terms of both household labor and income [2]. The major crops grown in and around Elephant Marsh include rice, maize, sorghum, millet, beans, cassava and sweet potatoes. The cash crops are mostly sold at the local markets and then transported by traders to bigger towns and cities [27]. The economic value of Elephant Marsh's recession agriculture was estimated at US$ 0.7 million per year in 1990 [24].
Elephant Marsh is used for livestock grazing which include an estimated 104,450 cattle [10]. The estimated economic value of Elephant Marsh for grazing was at US$1 million per year in 1990 [24]. The wetlands are a source of good, year-round fodder (mainly sedge and young reed) and watering points for the animals. The best grazing period in the wetlands however is during the dry season. Unfortunately, this coincides with the breeding season for crocodiles posing a danger to livestock and herders. Crocodiles are generally looked upon as enemies by the local people because of attacks and competition for fish. They have also been seriously hunted for their eggs, meat and skin. In 1997, for example, over US$ 23,000 was generated from the sale of 200 skins, which were exported to fashion houses in countries like France [5]. The poaching has led to reduction in crocodile populations. Our own field visits in 2011 showed that hippos too are hunted, with meat sold locally. Numbers and values are as yet unknown.
The estimated total economic value of Elephant Marsh in 1990 of US$ 2.8 million per year [24], besides being outdated to some extent, notably excludes other important ecosystem services such as water supply, water purification, transport, natural products and biodiversity.
4. The People and Their Traditions
The indigenous people at the Elephant Marsh are the Mang'anja but many other ethnic groups have migrated to the area, most notably the Sena [28]. Other ethnic groups in the area include: Lomwe, Yao, Chewa, Ngoni, Tonga and Tumbuka. The Man'ganja are usually specialized farmers while the Sena tend to engage more in fishing and livestock keeping, with a relatively business-oriented outlook.
There are five main traditional areas (commonly known as Traditional Authorities) around the Elephant Marsh, namely: Makhuwira, Mlolo, Lundu, N'gabu and Mbenje. Apart from their communal power, traditional authorities also act as the intermediaries between spirit worshiping communities and their gods. A rain cult among the Mang'anja worships Mbona whose head is believed to have been cut off hundreds of years ago leading to an outflow of a river of blood. Mbona is said to annually return to the home of his wife (Salima) in the form of a snake that foretells what will happen in the coming year [29,30]. The Mbona cult has been linked to population movements, settlement patterns, acceptance or non-acceptance of immigrants. In the 1930s, Mbona, through Traditional Authorities, directed the population to emigrate and relieve pressure on the marshes of the Lower Shire as a reaction to perennial flooding of the marshlands [31].
There are four categories of land tenure in Malawi namely; customary land, public land, leasehold and freehold. Ownership of land at the Elephant Marsh is based on customary tenure and access to land is through kinship or marriage, depending on ethnic cultures and traditions. For example, the Man'ganja system of succession and inheritance is matrilineal while the Sena system is patrilineal whereby inheritance follows the male line and the wife moves to her husband's village. These original traditions and norms have now been eroded by intermarriage, modernization and intermingling between the different tribes [29,30,32]. However, in accordance with the National Land Policy of 2004, land under customary tenure is communal and cannot be sold outside the community. Communal land is governed by customary law, in which the traditional leaders are the custodians of the land [33,34,35].
5. Management Arrangements
The Elephant Marsh and Lake Chilwa were mandated as the first two protected game reserves in Malawi in 1897. The aim was to protect the large game animals, including elephants, which were common in the area. It is reported that one of the early missionary explorers to Malawi, David Livingstone, met a huge herd of around 800 elephants in the wetland hence the name Elephant Marsh [13]. The customary management institutions that prevailed in the unprotected areas (common pool resources) all over the country were mainly influenced by secular and religious powers of traditional chiefs. For example, there were ritual prohibitions of hunting in forests associated with shrines such as the Mbona among the Mang'anja [36]. The enforcement of natural resource management regulations has, however, never been very effective [27] and was largely interrupted by the two world wars [36]. The final loss of statutory protection of the Elephant Marsh and Lake Chilwa seems to have occurred during the transition from colonial rule to the then newly independent government in 1964 [37] that lacked a well-coordinated legal and institutional setup.
Due to its customary tenure status, the Elephant Marsh is managed by local institutions with little input from the central government. In Malawi, the hierarchy of power has been devolved from central government to give authority to District Assemblies (DAs) to make local decisions that may favor development [38]. For example, the formation and implementation of by-laws to support fisheries management in a particular area is done by DAs. The DAs (made up of elected politicians and councilors; inherited traditional authorities; and appointed, influential members of society such as religious leaders and officials from non-governmental organizations) get advice and guidance from District Executive Committees (DECs), which are formed by government employees from different departments in the district. Decision making at this level is based on consensus between DAs and DECs [38,39]. The next lower level is headed by the Traditional Authorities (TAs) and comprises Group Village Chiefs who make Area Development Committees (ADCs). Authority at this level comes from DAs but support and technical advice is given by Area Executive Committees (AECs), which are made up of extension workers from government and representatives from non-governmental organizations. Decisions made by ADCs are passed on to Group Village Development Committees (headed by Group Village Chief and comprised of traditional village chiefs) for implementation at the community level through Village Development Committees. Decisions made at all these levels are generally accepted by the people because of involvement of chiefs who traditionally, have a lot of power.
At the village level and under guidance of the village chief, each development sector is represented in the form of an executive committee that is responsible for coordination of specific activities. Figure 2 depicts the overall arrangement.
In the fisheries sector, the village level committee is called Beach Village Committee. Access to the Elephant Marsh is controlled through customary law by the Beach Village Committees, operating through Beach Chairs. Beach chairs are strategically positioned at entry canals that lead into the wetland. Figure 3 shows one of the entry points. The house on the left is where the Beach Chairman sits to run the fishing affairs of his area of jurisdiction. Some twenty Beach Chairs are found around Elephant Marsh.
Community members can get access rights by paying an annual fishing license fee of MK 360 (US$ 2.19) to the department of fisheries. The fee is quite low compared to the value of fish and can be afforded by most members of the community. Figure 4 captures local relations that exist in managing the fishery at Elephant Marsh.
Based on our field visits in 2011, the arrangement appears to be working smoothly; one strength being that it assures community membership of the wetland users. Immigrants are restricted from access to the wetland but are allowed, for example, as fish traders. In most cases, they are easily identified and are fondly referred to as "Angoni" meaning "outsider" (although Angoni is a name of an ethnic group).
Figure 2. The power hierarchy at district level in relation to local communities. Adapted from [38].
Figure 3. One of the entry points into the Elephant Marsh. In the background, fishermen prepare to go out. The poles are used to push the boats and measure water depth.
6. Ecosystem-Based Potentials of the Elephant Marsh
The Elephant Marsh has rich alluvial soils that favor most crops including rice and maize. The current agricultural activities around and inside the Elephant Marsh are mostly for household food and not large scale commercial purposes. Prospects for undertaking large scale commercial agriculture (rice and maize production) are strong however, given the currently low opportunity cost of labor and the proximity of urban markets. This would increase employment opportunities as well as the average income levels of the local people. At the same time, these very prospects might lead to big-time investment to drain and convert the wetland into a large-scale irrigation scheme. Although a detailed discussion of such irrigation schemes lies outside the scope of this paper, any analyst would have to be concerned with the possible negative effects of such schemes such as loss of ecosystem goods and services. The communities are currently organizing themselves in small scale commercial farming groups and obtaining loans from money lending institutions (such as Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives) to support initiatives that reduce wetland degradation such conservation agriculture.
Increased fish production in the Elephant Marsh appears to be an opportunity. The wetland is a good breeding ground for many species of fish and the good road network to Malawi's commercial capital of Blantyre (at about 120 km) and other densely populated districts puts the Marsh in a good economic position. If proper ecosystem management approaches are adopted, the fish catch will increase. For example, Denny et al. [39] have proposed integration of smallholder wetland aquaculture into farming activities at Yala Swamps in Kenya, a wetland similar to Elephant Marsh; in a system they termed 'fingerponds'. In this approach, small ponds are dug into the wetland and used for fish production while the excavated soil is used to create raised bed gardens for vegetable production.
The hippopotamus that are found in the wetland are known to maintain the channels that enable fishing and probably also enhance fish productivity by creating more landscape diversity. During our field visit in 2011, fishermen complained that the channels are becoming too narrow due to declining numbers of hippopotamus. Harvesting reeds and floating vegetation for energy (see below), done in such a pattern that there is a balance with natural primary production in the swamp may also create more open water and enhance fish production.
Papyrus and reeds grow thickly in the Elephant Marsh and are used locally to make mats, hats, chairs, thatch, granaries, baskets and fishing gear. Papyrus is also used as a lining for coffins. Lily bulbs (locally known as nyika) are sometimes eaten for carbohydrates especially in years of poor crop harvest [10]. Value addition, crafts development plus urban and tourist marketing of these products may promote the livelihood of the locals and enhance their motivation to protect the ecosystem.
Malawi is a country faced with acute energy shortages. Only 8 percent of the population has access to electricity. The papyrus and reeds may therefore relieve the energy demand by acting as a source of bio-energy. A similarly high bio-energy resource potential from reed harvesting in Poland has been uncovered [40]. Reed (Phragmites australis ) is a herbaceous lignocellulolic crop with a net calorific value of 4944.4 kWh/ton [41] and an annual above-ground production of 20 tonnes per hectare [42]. Assuming 60 percent of the Elephant Marsh has reed growth, 480,000 tons could be annually produced using biogasification (decomposing the vegetation into methane, using anaerobic bacteria), having a calorific value of 2.37 × 109 kWh. Theoretically, this could be converted into a steady 10 to 20,000 kW [41,43,44,45,46], which is about 3 percent of Malawi's total installed electricity capacity of 302 MW [47].
How this energy potential might be utilized requires more research. It might well be, for instance, that solar panels, combined with a small battery and LED lamps, would be the superior solution for household-level lighting needs. The biomass energy from the marsh could then be used for heavier electricity demands (communal video centers, maize mills, etc.), especially in villages that lie close to the marsh's entry points where the biomass can easily be transported by boat. Another energy option to be explored is to focus on heat rather than electricity production, e.g. making briquettes as an alternative for firewood [48].
The landscape and fauna at the Elephant Marsh and the rich cultural and historical heritage of the people around it [32,49] make it a potential destination for social and ecotourism. A joint effort of the Mlambe Foundation of the Netherlands, the Museums of Malawi and the Department of Antiquities has created a heritage center called Tisunge (which means 'Let us keep') at the entrance gate of nearby Lengwe national park to preserve Lower Shire's historical and cultural heritage. Archeologists and oral traditions have revealed small stone and iron tools from short-statured foragers of the 3rd century AD, referred to as Batwa [50]. The center has a library, a small museum and a children's club.
Tourism in Malawi is estimated to contribute about US$ 159 million per year and employs about 5 percent of the population. Ecotourism may not only support conservation efforts but also boost the economic activities of the local people in the area. There are already two well known protected areas in the proximity of the Elephant Marsh (Majete game reserve and Lengwe national park). While there are no data on the ecosystem dynamics in the wetland at the time of Livingstone's journeys to the area, it would be interesting to connect the management plan with those of the protected areas both biologically and in terms of tourist packages. The Elephant Marsh could specialize in bird watching. This could then be combined with 'social tourism' for travelers who want to stay with a local family, learn their culture, join fishing and village life, and follow the footsteps of Livingstone. Social and ecotourism can create new livelihoods and act as an incentive for conservation and other sustainable livelihood activities such as beekeeping. The initial stages require collaboration with the protected areas and investment in at least one fast and trustworthy tourist boat. A good example of successful wetland ecotourism in sub-Saharan Africa is the Okavango Delta in Botswana. On the downside of this potential, it is worth remembering that wetlands can be a breeding ground for such diseases as malaria and schistosomiasis [51]. A health risk assessment needs to be done before social and ecotourism is to be stimulated.
7. Towards Co-Management of the Elephant Marsh?
The exploitation pressure on the Elephant Marsh will certainly rise due to background developments such as population growth, market forces, rural poverty and climate change. During 2011, the consumer price index for various rural commodities in Malawi rose by about 5% [52]. If the food prices (including fish) and energy shortages will continue to increase, there is likelihood that powerful outsiders such as business oriented citizens from other parts of Malawi and abroad would buy or force their way in (usually through village headmen), move away the natives to resettle elsewhere and exploit the Elephant Marsh, for example, for large scale commercial agriculture. Such cases have happened at Likangala Irrigation Scheme in Malawi and Gambella rice paddy in Ethiopia.
On top of that, any realization of the development potentials discussed above will make the wetland more attractive for use by both locals and outsiders. In Section 5, we have seen that the current local management arrangements appear to be working well but also that they are quite informal and not protected by strong central institutions or state involvement. The question therefore arises to what extent and in which way institutions need to be strengthened in order to prevent them to succumb under the rising tide of interested exploiters. Will management institutions remain strong enough if purely locally based? Can local institutions be entrusted to also safeguard the supra-local ecosystem services performed by the Marsh? These questions indicate that institutional analysis is warranted, especially with a view to explore the option to engage government in the guidance and protection of the local arrangements and organizations.
The question of how to manage common pool resources (CPR)—of which the Elephant Marsh in an example—was raised in the late 1970s by the U.S. treaty tribes in the western part of Washington State to describe the relationship they aspired to have with state managers over fisheries management [53]. This happened a few years after Garrett Hardin had published his seminal article on "The Tragedy of the Commons" [54] which, based on a rational choice logic, proclaimed that any common pool recourse will ultimately be overexploited to the ruin of all. Even though empirical social scientists have demonstrated convincingly that this idea is often contradicted by real-world facts, it remains true that common property regimes can function sustainably only under certain conditions [55] and can fail under increasing outside pressure [55]. "The Tragedy of Common Access" therefore arises from lack of support and strong recognition by central states of the locally developed institutions, which usually are better placed to manage common pool resources [56,57]. Ostrom [55] highlighted the need to nest smaller common property systems such as the Elephant Marsh in bigger enterprises, for example, wetland management frameworks at national level so that issues of cross scale cooperation can best be addressed. Currently, the central state in Malawi does not fully recognize the right of local resource users at the Elephant Marsh to create their own management institutions. This situation jeopardizes the sustainability of the local wetland management institutions at Elephant Marsh.
Central states can have many roles in common property management [58]. Some are negative, e.g. usurping or undermining local institutions. Others are positive, such as actively protecting common land against intrusion by outsiders. Local institutions therefore evolve and reposition themselves around internal and external factors that best represent the legitimacy, ideologies and economic interest of more powerful actors [59,60]. This unfortunately encourages open access constellations where external actors tend to benefit more [59] because central states fail to enforce formal rules to control the activities of intruders. This "New Institutional Approach" [59,61] usually leads to a shift towards leasehold land tenure systems, which disadvantages the locals and a subsequent erosion of local institutions [60]. 'Co-management' is the term coined for arrangements in which government and communities or user groups share responsibilities over a resource. Co-management has been engineered early in fisheries practice [55,62] but presently gains an ever widening application like in forest management [63]. Experience from elsewhere (such as Kafue Flats Floodplain Wetland in Zambia) has however shown that although co-management arrangements promise many theoretical benefits, there is usually limited involvement and cost-benefit analysis of local group interests [59,60,61].
Africa offers a fertile ground for co-management, because community-based management of common pool resources was historically built on the heritage of communalism [64] that utilized complementary and mutually beneficial traditional systems [65,66]. The local level systems were based on locally specific knowledge of resource dynamics and resource users [67] and therefore tended to vary much between locations. For the same reason, present-day institutional scientists emphasize that co-management arrangements need to be locally crafted; there is no "one size fits all" model [68]. In Africa, recent examples of co-management approaches include the Community Wildlife Service (CWS) in Kenya; Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) in Zimbabwe; Administrative Management Design for Game Management Areas (ADMADE) in Zambia; and Community Partnerships for Sustainable Resources Management (COMPASS) in Malawi. In all these arrangements, there is a defined system boundary around a natural resource and set rules that regulate entitlement of ownership and use. Co-management in all these cases depends on a good integration of local regimes into national systems. When a natural resource is not protected by the state, for instance, the dynamics of the right to own, the right to use, and the conflicts of user rights and obligations become central. The COMPASS project, which was concluded in 2009, aimed at enhancing the capacity of rural communities to sustainably manage natural resources and improve household income from sales of natural resource-based products. The project was a success because it worked extensively with community based organizations and communities saw immediate benefits through diversified livelihood sources, food availability and activities that promoted natural resources management. Due substantial community involvement in both the COMPASS project and the current management arrangements at Elephant Marsh and the similarity in intended outcomes, there are many lessons that may be replicated.
Institutional theories can of course be used in the design of co-management arrangements. Examples are the populist approach [55,69] the neo-liberal approach [70,71,72] and the classical approach [70,73]. But as said, the art of successful system design is not so much in theory-led panaceas but in locally based institutional 'bricolage ' [74,75] in which universal criteria such as efficiency and equity are built into existing traditions and institutions as discussed in Section 4 and Section 5 of this paper.
8. Concluding Remarks
For Elephant Marsh and many other similar wetlands, the first action is to explore the need of institutional strengthening vis-à-vis the rising pressures of the business-as-usual scenario and a scenario of possibly successful realization of ecosystem-based development potentials. This can take the form of a negotiated consensus between an outsider assessment and the community's own assessment of institutional strengths and weaknesses. This then would be a basis for an open-ended process of participatory institutional bricolage that focuses on the points where engagement of the state is most needed. One outcome could be that the state would confine itself to regulation of access by outsiders and safeguarding of a number of supra-local values such as sustainability, biodiversity and external ecosystem services, and leaves all else to the communities to manage.
The latest Malawi State of Environment and Outlook report [15] highlights that many wetlands in Malawi (including Elephant Marsh, Ndindi Marsh, Marshes of Chitipa, Lake Chilwa, Rungwenya) are under major threat due to anthropogenic activities, mainly agricultural conversion [15]. Malawi needs to develop a wetland policy that will help in promoting a balanced and sustainable wetland management for multiple resource users under increasing pressure from population growth, poverty, overexploitation, a changing climate and agricultural conversion. The policy would therefore be of particular essence in protecting the many Malawian wetlands that are under similar circumstances as the Elephant Marsh. Realizing the importance of the Elephant Marsh, it would be paramount to designate it as a Ramsar site with the aim of enhancing the opportunities highlighted earlier in this paper and to arouse interest in scientific studies, local community awareness and involvement as well as funding opportunities for the protection of the wetland. Although designation of a wetland as a Ramsar site may lead to wise use and protection, it should be noted that there is need for strong national and international programs that promote community awareness and involvement in managing wetland ecosystems. For example, although Lake Chilwa is a Ramsar site, it still faces challenges such as inadequate national and international support for implementation of the management plan that was developed in 2001 with funds from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA); this includes the allocation of water, ecosystem degradation resulting from poor agricultural practices and the overexploitation of natural resources (mainly bird hunting for food) by local communities. The Ramsar status of any wetland alone is not enough as a management option unless it is coupled with other initiatives that promote sustainable livelihoods of local communities. It is also important to improve data collection schemes at the Elephant Marsh so that decision making by local and national institutions as well as policy formulation and implementation are based on real time information. This study has revealed that if the available opportunities are to be efficiently and effectively exploited at the Elephant Marsh, there is need to rise above the institutional design principles of Ostrom [55] which are based on nested enterprises and move towards real participatory approaches such as constitutionality (local people's sense of ownership in bottom-up institution building). There is need to strike a balance between the local wetland management system, where pressure on the Elephant Marsh emanates mainly from poverty, and the national and international interests of biodiversity conservation as advocated by the Ramsar convention. Although enhanced production and maximum benefits from ecosystem good and services are central to any management system of the Elephant Marsh, it is important to realize that there are always limits to growth. Any management program for the Elephant Marsh should therefore strive towards sustainable exploitation of the opportunities that lie in the wetland's goods and services.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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The 3.5 ton trove of artefacts was described as priceless by the museum director and includes stone tools dating back 10,000 years.
The items have been confiscated during random searches of passenger luggage and freight in the airport.
Among the greatest treasures are a bronze peacock-shaped brazier dating from the 12th century and a 100-year-old carved, wooden pen box filled with Persian poems and curses.
At least half the returned collection is dated back to before Afghanistan's Islamic period which began in the seventh century.
Afghanistan has one of the world's richest archaeological heritages, having hosted a succession of empires and invaders including Alexander the Great, the Arab armies and Ghengis Khan in 1220.
However looters have used three decades of war and civil strife to strip historical sites. The national museum was also plundered of 70 per cent of its 100,000-piece collection.
Taliban extremists then smashed many pre-Islamic works including Buddha statues they claimed were idolatrous.
Omara Khan Masoudi, the museum director, said: "We have lost a lot of things from our museum, so this is very important to us."
Customs officials said Heathrow was a hub for smugglers travelling from Pakistan or the Gulf where many of the items had been taken.
The items were identified and catalogued by curators at the British museum. When the Afghan authorities requested their return, they were flown back by Red Cross flight in 22 crates in February.
Mark Sedwill, British ambassador to Kabul, said: "There was a year-zero element to what the Taliban were trying to do. There was a systematic effort to wipe out their heritage because according to them it was un-Islamic.
"If you remove from people their sense of cultural heritage and history, you remove a part of the way they define themselves."


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Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board | Calendar
|Exhibition Public - Asia
Detail: The many islands of Okinawa, formerly called Ryukyu, were where the drama of one of East Asia's most glorious maritime kingdoms was staged. The Ryukyu Kingdom, building on its cultural riches, developed its own distinctive arts, including gorgeous textiles, dazzling lacquer, and paintings, stimulated by its neighboring countries, including China and Japan. This exhibition is an opportunity to explore the brilliance of Ryukyu Kingdom art, in which East Asian cultures were blended to create new beauty, in a special collection of rare works, including treasures from the Ryukyu Kingdom's Sho Dynasty.
Phone No.: +81(0)3-3479-8600
Contact Email: [email protected]
Site URL: https://www.suntory.com/sma
Royal Crown :Ryukyu King Sho Family Related Documents (National Treasure)
18th-19th century
Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board | Calendar


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|At A1Adultebooks
At the top of the stairs, Thorn gave a tug engineered to elicit a small noise from Chastity's throat. Her noises and small whimpers made him hard. He passed two doorways on the way to his own room. The rooms they passed belonged to Fist and Leland. The other scavengers lived scattered about the grounds. Only those closest to him got to live in the mansion.
He threw the door open. He wasn't yet eager to take the fiery redhead. First, he wanted to build up the anticipation. He shoved her into the room. She stumbled and almost went sprawling onto the floor, catching herself at the last minute.
His bedroom was filled with dark furniture that had been in the mansion since he'd taken over duties from the last leader. He'd added little to the room except a few metal pieces for strapping down slaves. The metalsmith had crafted a stockade from plans that Thorn had provided. Made of hammered metal and wood, the piece left a slave bent over at the waist; head and wrists immobile. It made a slave's mouth and pussy easily accessible.
He watched her eyes widen as she took in all the fuck equipment. He loved that first reaction from slaves when they saw his play pieces. She spun in a circle to view all of them. He glanced around the room trying to see it with fresh eyes. It must be intimidating for her. Metal, rough-hewn, wood posts with chains and cuffs along with leather straps.
Other ordinary furniture like a claw foot porcelain tub in one corner surrounded by a wispy curtain, and the bed that dominated the middle of the room wouldn't inspire terror until she knew what they were capable of producing.
He locked the door behind them and waved his arm around the room. "Get up on the bed, slave."
She stiffened, turned on him with tightened fists ready to fight, "Do not call me that. I'm nobody's slave."
He'd said that knowing it would upset her. He wasn't sure what spurred him on so much about her attitude. He wanted a challenge, a struggle. A resistant body fighting beneath him as he plunged himself deep inside her pussy. Something he never got from the willing slaves downstairs.
He laughed, amused at her reaction, pleased at the fire in her. "Do you not realize where you are? The rules here in The Pit are as I demand them. You're a slave now. Here for my pleasure. When I've had my fill of you, you'll be used for the pleasure of others."
He stalked towards her with a slow, predatory gaze. His eyes never left her face. The flickering of various emotions was easily readable in her expression. When her eyes blazed, the specks of brown and gold were sharper and more defined. They seemed to be lit from within by her anger.
For every step he took towards her, she retreated two. He had the advantage of limited space in the room. Eventually, he'd catch up to her. For now, he was enjoying the slow chase and her panicky fear.
Finally, he let his eyes travel her body. There was a pleasant roundness to it. The firm softness of her breasts with their puffy, pink nipples. The small curve of her stomach before it dipped into the red curls between her thighs. Her hips were wide, and her thighs; all he could think about was digging his fingers into those thighs. Watching his fingers leave impressions behind while he used her. Her skin had a healthy, pink glow that screamed country living, and he couldn't wait to mark that smooth flesh with a whip or a crop, to see his hand marks imprinted on her thighs and ass.
When he let his gaze travel back to her face, he could see the realization that she was trapped. If she knew that her emotions were so transparent, she'd try to coach her face better. He was sure of that.
She said, "I'm here only until I can escape, or my family comes for me. Our families will come for us. Do you think that you can take this many women from their homes, and nobody will come to rescue us?"
"Your people are weak," he barked at her with a snarling smile. "What do they know of war or combat? Nothing, I'd wager. No. I'm not worried about your people. My own have been training for conflict while yours have been training to farm tomatoes."
He advanced until she was huddled in the corner of the room against a post he'd had installed only recently. One that she'd find herself attached to sometime later. Once he was pressed against her, he skimmed his hands along her arms to her wrists. With fingers tightening around her wrists, he leaned down to brush his lips gently across hers. He didn't entirely trust that she wouldn't bite him.
She cringed from him, "They'll still come for us."
She didn't bite him but neither did she respond to his kiss. He pinned her arms behind her back with one hand enclosed over her wrists. His other hand hefted a breast in his palm while brushing a thumb over the nipple.
At her sharp inhale, he crushed his lips against hers in a demanding kiss. While kissing her, he probed at her resisting lips with his tongue. In answer to her tightening lips, he twisted her nipple between two of his fingers. Her gasp was exactly what he'd been aiming for, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth.
He tugged her arms back, so her breasts jutted forward while he nudged his hardening cock against the softness of her body.
When he broke away from the kiss, she was panting. He would love to think that it was because of arousal, the effects of the kiss, but the defiance was still plain on her face. He pinched her nipple again while a smile bloomed.
He yanked her out of the corner because he wanted to see her spread across his bed. To keep her off balance, he shoved her.
"That doesn't concern me, slave. We can handle a bunch of Eves Country farmers."
She flinched at the name again. It stiffened her body with anger. She planted her feet and stood with her hands fisted on her hips. Her face was flushed, and a pink glow traveled from her face down the graceful line of her neck to the flesh above her breasts.
Every emotion, every thought whether anger, confusion or curiosity was written on her face. It made him want to leave his own marks upon her. To see how she reacted to his caresses, his fingers playing against her sex, and his cock invading her body. Or the smack of his palm, the lick of his whip and pinches from his fingers against her skin.
He kept his amused smile from lingering on his face as he advanced on her. He scooped her up and flung her on his bed. Swiftly, before she could do more than cry out a sharp protest, he had cuffed her to the bed. Straps and leather wrist and ankle restraints were permanently attached to the frame's posts. The room was built originally for sleeping, yet, the activities Thorn engaged in here didn't require pillows or blankets. Sleep was secondary to the room's real purpose; fucking.
Her face was finally showing the proper amount of fear. It was still edged in anger, but not much was left. It had quieted her tongue, as well. Just in case, he reached for a leather strap from the bedside table sifting through sleek, metal phallic shapes and biting clamps to find the leather. He wasn't ready to use those toys on her.
He slipped the leather bit between her teeth and secured it behind her head tightly.
He would eventually use her mouth. For now, he wanted to play with her body. Test her reactions. He could wait to test her gag reflex.
He began stripping off his clothes as he watched her writhe on the bed. He ripped the shirt from his back and tossed it. He toed off his boots and unbuckled his pants while watching the way her breasts swayed, the pink nipples surrounded by goose pebbled flesh. She watched him with wide eyes. They were still angry but frightened and slightly panicked, too.
The eye contact was electric, and he growled low, deep in the back of his throat. His cock twitched. Once his clothes were gone, he bent to suck on a nipple. Her muffled cry was filled with anger. More of a screech and a demand. The mumbled yelling from behind the gag made him grin. It brought out a playfully, evil side to him.
He brushed his teeth against her nipple while digging fingers sharp into her tit flesh. She flung her body side to side all the while screeching and chewing on the gag. He grabbed both breasts and squeezed hard, sucking on one nipple with a forceful suction then withdrawing until it popped out of his mouth with a smacking sound. Her cry was answer enough about the pain he was causing. He pinched the other nipple while nibbling on the one closest.
He grinned up at her as she watched then leaned down with agonizing slowness, and latching onto her nipple. He pulled his head back with her nipple still in his mouth, stretching and tugging her breast out of shape. She arched her back, trying to keep the pain to a minimum. He just sucked harder until her nipple slipped out.
"Your lovely cries and whimpers are like music to me, slave. I was going to wait, let you adjust to your environment, but I find myself eager to hear you scream for me."
He reached into the top drawer of the side table and displayed the clamps. The iron teeth were almost sharp enough to draw blood. They clenched painfully on flesh in a vice grip. More experienced slaves still whimpered while wearing them.


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Now in its fifth season, The Walking Dead has become a cult phenomenon. Millions of people are looking forward to the new season that begins in early February. It is amazing, how many people set aside one hour every Sunday to watch this very un-scriptural TV program, but find it way too hard to set aside one hour for God.
From a Christian perspective, it is not really wholesome entertainment. I find it amazing, people will talk about this program, share about this program, and make certain they don't miss the next episode. It is almost like their Sunday's revolve around a science fiction TV program.
If people that truly live for this program would put even 10% of the same effort into setting one hour on Sunday apart for God, what a different world this would be! If the same people spent 1% of the time they talk about the Walking Dead, and instead, talked about the one that gives us eternal life, what a change they would find in their lives, and in the lives of others they reach for our Lord.
On that first Easter morning, when the women arrived at the tomb of Jesus, an angel greeted them with these words. "Why seek the living among the dead?" We are truly living in an age where God is marking foreheads. He is separating His sheep from the goats. Where do you choose to be? With the walking dead? Or walking in the light of God's Word?
It is time that those that call themselves Christians, to begin to act like Christians in everything they say and do, and sincerely mean it from the depths of their heart. If you agree with this premise, share this with your friends.
Solo Deo Gloria!
To God alone be the glory!


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The UK-based, global software firm will cater for its North American client base at the event
Ideagen (LSE:IDEA.L)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 19, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — Ideagen, a developer of quality, safety, audit, risk and performance management software, is to hold its US customer conference in New York for the first time later this year.
The 'Ideagen Horizons North America' event will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Metropolitan over two days between Tuesday, October 9th and Wednesday, October 10th.
The event is exclusively aimed at users of Ideagen's Q-Pulse, PleaseReview and Pentana software for quality, safety, risk, audit and performance management.
Ben Dorks, Ideagen's CEO, said: "As Ideagen grows rapidly so, in turn, does our successful and popular Horizons events and we are absolutely delighted to be hosting our North American event in New York this year.
"As ever, Horizons will bring together customers from various industries and allow them to learn about – and witness first hand – what's new with Ideagen and our products.
"For the second year in succession, Ideagen Horizons North America will run over two full days, providing delegates with plenty of time to meet our internal experts face-to-face as well as share their own experiences and expertise.
"We are looking forward to yet another successful conference in North America, this time in the wonderful setting of New York."
Ideagen Horizons North America is now in its third year having previously been held in both Chicago and Orlando. The event has continued to grow in stature and size each year.
The agenda for the 2018 event has still to be confirmed. However, previous years have included analysis of product roadmaps, product master classes and an evening networking reception. Customer presentations and Q&A sessions have also been included.
The announcement of Ideagen Horizons North America comes just months after Ideagen acquired its first US-based business in the form of New York and Texas-based Medforce Technologies Inc for $8.7m. https://www.ideagen.com/company/news/ideagen-acquires-us-based-medforce-technologies-inc/
Ideagen also recently published its unaudited end of year results which saw the delivery of its 9th year of consecutive growth. https://www.ideagen.com/company/news/ideagen-delivers-9th-consecutive-year-of-growth/
For more information on the Ideagen Horizons North America event, visit www.horizons.ideagen.com/north-america
Joe O'Brien
PR & Media Relations
+44 (0) 1629 274 5237
+44 (0) 7916 131501
About Ideagen PLC
Ideagen is a UK-headquartered, global technology company quoted on the London Stock Exchange AIM market (Ticker: IDEA.L).
The Group provides software and services to organisations operating within highly regulated industries such as aviation, banking and finance and life science, with its main operational premises spread throughout the UK, EU, US, Middle East and SE Asia.
With an excellent portfolio of software products including Q-Pulse, Coruson, Pentana Audit, Pentana Performance and PleaseReview, Ideagen helps its clients reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, strengthen compliance and oversight and anticipate and manage every detail of risk.
Currently, more than 3,700 organisations use Ideagen's products including seven of the top 10 UK accounting firms, all of the top aerospace and defence companies and 75% of the world's leading pharmaceutical firms.
Ideagen's diverse and varied customer base includes many well-known, global brands such as British Airways, Aggreko, BAE, Ryanair, US Navy, KLM, BBVA, Bank of New York, Commerzbank, Meggitt, Heineken, Johnson Matthey, Haeco Group and European Central Bank. As well as this, Ideagen counts 180 hospitals across the UK and US amongst its client base.
Ideagen directly employs more than 420 members of staff and touches every continent globally.
Joe O'Brien
+44 (0) 1629699100
email us here
Ideagen Horizons 2018/19 – What to Expect
Source: EIN Presswire


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Canyon Lake Ranch
Romanctic getaway or family fun. Two private guesthouses: Choice of Pool, hot tub& fireplace or total seclusion under trees. Super amenities. Near Canyon Lake
Lakeside Hideaway Cottage B&B
Private Cottage overlooking Lake Travis w/ Hot Tub
Lake Travis Cozy Cove Vacation Cottages
lBeautifully furnished waterfront resort cottages on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas Spectacular lakefront views!
Cabin In The Woods At Lake Travis
While the the cabin has no view of the lake, as it's about 350 yards from the Lakeside park, it is nestled in it's own 1/2 acre private wooded area, with no other buildings.
Stay at a Austin-Lake Travis, Texas Bed and Breakfasts and Inns for the personal attention you desire. A Austin-Lake Travis B&B is a great alternative to hotels or motels while visiting the state of Texas!
Visit our Austin-Lake Travis, Texas bed and breakfast directory of historic, romantic, and adventure B&B's. You can browse through our detailed listings of Austin-Lake Travis, Texas bed and breakfasts and inns with nearby city listings that include pictures, room rates, booking information and area activities. Every Austin-Lake Travis, Texas b&b inns has complete contact information and a direct link to the innkeepers.


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This post is Part 1 in a series of why Wingtip Women creator Leslie Myers loves mens shoes.
Reason 1: Style
I'm a simple person who likes simple things. Given too many choices, I am a basket case of indecision. My husband won't go to Chinese or Mexican restaurants with me anymore. There are just too many damn things on the menu. We're there half the night because I can't decide what to order.
I'm like that when it comes to fashion, too. Too many choices, and well, I am late for work.
That's why "style" is the first reason I love mens shoes: They are elegant, streamlined and simple. They fall into four main categories:
- Oxford
- Derby
- Monkstrap
- Loafer/slipper
Complete simplicity
The fundamental shape (dare I use the word "footprint"?) of each shoe is similar. All are closed-toe and closed heel. The derby is nearly identical to the oxford, so much so that most men can't even tell the difference. (If you'd like to know how read my post on Colin Firth.)
The variations don't change the shape, just the decorative accents. An oxford or derby, for example, can come in a wingtip or a cap toe version. Toes can be burnished, medallion, apron, bicycle. A wingtip can be a long wing or a short wing. But the shoes are all reassuringly similar. The material of the uppers and the heels is nearly always leather, in rich shades of black, brown, tan or cordovan. To me, they are little works of art that enhance the overall look of an outfit without drawing the viewer's attention downward.
Versus complete chaos
Now consider women's dress shoes. I tried to make a list of the main categories, but got so exhausted I had to lie down. Every different kind of shoe has multiple, myriad variations. Pumps, stiletto heels, kitten heels, slingbacks, mules, ballet flats, sandals, thongs, wedges, gladiator, open toe, closed toe, peep toe, platform. The shape, height and footprint of each shoe is incredibly varied, as are the colors and materials.
And that's before we even think about the decorative accents. I'm not sure which is most offensive, the spikes, the bows, or the plastic jewels. That's a briefcase I'm carrying, hon, not a spear or a scepter. And I Goodwilled my Bedazzler back in the 80s.
And that, in a nutshell, is why I love the style of men's shoes. Classic, gloriously neutral, understated. Call me crazy, but I long for a day when my biggest workday shoe decision is black, brown, or tan.
p.s. Please excuse the lack of apostrophes. I know better, but must sacrifice them to appease the search engine optimization gods.


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Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Da Stars
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Stay Hydrated
Well well well. What the hell do we have here? Am I mistaken?... or is tonight the season opener for the Edmonton Oilers? You're god damn right it is! I sure hope Khabibulin is drinking lots of water. We don't need our new/old goalie getting dehydrated and having to leave the game between the second and third periods. Do we?
This has been the longest day ever. I woke up this morning around 7 am...as I am normally prone to do. Reason: My kid tends to wake up between 6:30 and 7:00 am every day, which is awesome. I get to live every day to the fullest extent possible, regardless of the state of my hangover. Ahh, the joys of parenthood. You see...some of you may not know...but I am the proud father of a 2 year old girl. (Yeah...I know hey? I barely have the mental maturity of a 12 year old...let alone an adult that could parent offspring ...and have it survice to the age of Two.)
What a darling eh? How do you suppose she knows to what team to cheer for? I swear I've never told her ANYTHING about the Oilers. Ever. She doesn't even know what hockey is.
"But...umm...TB...I hear you in that video telling her what to say."
Well....then....I suggest you get your hearing checked...because I've reviewed this video multiple times and I can't hear anything but a cute kid cheering for her favorite hockey team. My guess is that through some miracle of genetics, she knows that the Oilers are awesome and she must cheer for them to ensure the survival of her species. That's just my guess.
Moving on...
Game Day Bitches!!! The Oilers are playing host to those farm animal lovin' cowpokes from down south this evening. It should be a spirited affair, as always. I'm anxious to see how the Oilers play tonight because the Flames have already played a regular season game. For that reason, I hope the Oilers don't come out flat and I hope they bring it from the second the puck is dropped.
The Flames looked pretty good against the Canucks the other night. They stormed out of the gates and had the Canucks on their heels for 2/3 of the game. The third period was all Vancouver...but the shock and awe technique employed by the Flames in the first two periods was enough to build a lead and weather the storm for the third.
The Oilers need to play a full 60 mintues tonight. They were guilty of playing partial games last season. I don't recall very many games last season where the Oilers stormed out of the gates and kept rolling through to the final buzzer. I sure hope that is one aspect the Oilers work on this season.
I expect the 4th line tonight to be the money maker. I think the combo of Moreau, Gagner and Stortini is a good mix of grit, hard work and skill. It should fare well against the Flames.
That brings me to a final thought: I like these line combos that Quinn and his 332 coaches have thought up. I like the idea of a balanced attack. I mean, sure you could have ONE really potent line...but then you sacrifice the other lines to be chock full of muckers and ham n' eggers. I like the idea of mixing a bit of skill with a bit of hard work....it's a departure from the Mactavish days where we had lines of skill, lines of defensive forwards, lines of muckers and lines of grinders. You knew when the bottom two lines were out on the ice that the chance of scoring a goal was pretty much nil. This way any line has a good chance of potting some G's at any point.
...sounds good in theory...doesn't it?
...what the hell do I know. I just hope it works.
Game time is 8:00pm MST. CBC.
Towel Boy


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Best Ideas on Wedding Anniversary Celebrations
There are many ways the married people can use to bring color and vigor to their married life. The couples could choose to add color to their marriage by ensuring that they celebrate the wedding anniversaries as often as they deem necessary. The wedding anniversaries can fall due at any time of the year and the modalities of how to celebrate them is purely a decision of the couples.
There are many frequencies of celebrating the wedding anniversaries such as yearly, ten-yearly and so and so on. The dates chosen should not prove to be a big deal to the couples since the main aim of the celebrations is to reminisce the wedding memories.
A number of factors may influence the mode the couples choose to celebrate their wedding anniversaries. Some couples prefer travelling during the anniversary date as a way of seeing the world beyond their homes. Other couples too, may find the idea of holding a party fanciful. Some group of people will still be satisfied with the idea of going downtown to watch a famous movie during their anniversary date. Others may be obliged to just exchange gifts… and the list is endless.
There can be an endless debate on the merits of any of the above modes of celebration. Notwithstanding this, there are certain factors that each couple should consider before they settle for any of the above-said options. First, the issue of the budget estimate is what determines what to do on your anniversary date. Couples can start saving early enough for their anniversary date so that they have a celebration that will leave them full of memories. The less costly alternatives for couples with financial strains can include ideas such as visiting the wild park on that day, having a dinner out or maybe exchanging some gifts or even going to the movie together.
The other important factor that you may need to consider when weighing on which kind of celebrations to have is the time you have before the actual anniversary dates. Some couples rarely have enough time on their hands to organize for stuff like wedding anniversaries. These couples ought not to be cowed by the lack of time since there are many ways they can still celebrate their marriage. For this group of couples, they ought to consider options that are less time consuming so that they are not left out of the fun of wedding anniversary celebrations. For other couples who are not strained by the issue of time, they should go for ideas that are not limited by time such as traveling the world over, camping in the mountains or maybe they should also go on an expedition in the sea.
Finding Parallels Between Ideas and Life


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Learn Programming vs Learn Hacking:
We get a hell lot of questions regarding"Learning to Hack" and "Which programming languages should I know to learn Hacking?".
So, today, we are going to discuss about some of The Essential Programming Languages which you should know in order to learn Hacking.
So, let's get started! Do you know that everything you see on your computer is already been programmed in some programming language? So, if you want to become a Computer Hacker, then you must have a deep understanding of the programming language in which the victim's system is developed.
Which Programming language you should learn?
Well, it is not as straight-forward as you thought. The answer of this question depends on the target's system and the mechanism on which it works. The only way to understand its logic is to understand how it is coded and if you don't understand that particular programming language, then you will not be able to understand it.
Web Hacking and Penetration Testing:
Web hacking and Penetration testing is very common but not so easy when it comes to secure targets. So, you may wonder what languages should I know to hack or test web applications.
1/ PHP Programming Language :
PHP is a server scripting language, and a powerful tool for making dynamic and interactive Web pages.
PHP code may be embedded into HTML code, or it can be used in combination with various web template systems, web content management systems and web frameworks. PHP code is usually processed by a PHP interpreter implemented as a module in the web server or as a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) executable. You can fins PHP Tutorials here.
2/ JavaScript Programming Language :
JavaScript is the client-side web programming language and is often called as "The Programming Language of the Web". It is used in client-side validations, increasing User-Interface of the website and for quick response. JavaScript is a must if you want to get into Penetration Testing field. It can help you to find client-side flaws including common web vulnerabilities like Cross-Site
Scripting(XSS). You can find JavaScript tutorials here.
3/ SQL Language :
SQL stands for Structured Query Language and is a database programming language used in almost every data storing website. SQL is responsible for storing and managing the most sensitive and confidential data on the website such as user credentials, bank details, etc. Mostly websites make use of MySQL, a Relational Database Management System. You can find MySQL documentations here.
Programming Languages For Exploit Writing:
Every hacker must know how to write an exploit. It is a must, especially if you don't want to be considered as Script Kiddie. However, it requires deep knowledge of programming languages. You can do that with Python, C, C++, Ruby and Perl.
1/ C & C++ Programmin Language :
C is considered as one of the most powerful programming language. It can be used for software programming in Linux and Windows, but can be used as a lethal weapon if you want to write
exploits in C. It may not be able to provide wider flexibility in some cases, but still considered a good option. You can find some C docs here.
2/ Python Programming Language :
Python is widely used language for exploit writing or creating pentesting and hacking tools. A Hacker must know Python and Python Socket Programming. It helps lot learning exploit creation. Python is mostly recommended by all Hackers and Security experts because it provides wider flexibility and its not hard if you're familiar with C or C++. You can find some Python docs here.
You can also Download for Free: Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters PDF.
3/ Ruby Programming Language :
Ruby is a simple object-oriented programming language. The Metasploit framework is itself coded in Ruby. It can be a good option for exploit writing and development. You can find some Ruby docs here.
That's it for now.Start your Programming Language learning with downloading Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters (PDF) to get started as a hacker and take your hacking skills to an expert level!
If this article helped you to solve your problem please feel free to Share it with your friends. with Love and Prosperity K4LINUX-TEAM.
Source : Techbible