Rapid land use change threatens provisioning ecosystem services in miombo woodlands

Rural communities in sub‐Saharan Africa rely upon provisioning ecosystem services (ES) to support their livelihoods, yet in areas where rapid land use change is occurring the relationship between environmental change, provisioning ES availability and livelihoods is not fully understood. This relationship is explored here within a typical rural miombo woodland landscape in south‐west Tanzania, which is undergoing rapid land use change due to expanding tobacco cultivation. The types of provisioning ES used, who uses them, changes in their availability, and the possible future impacts of these changes were explored using a mixed‐method approach. Our findings identify 19 provisioning ES used by households regardless of economic status. Firewood, building materials, and fresh water are used by almost all households, and these are perceived to be declining in availability. Households identified this as a negative environmental impact of land use change and that provisioning ES loss would be ‘bad’ for their households. Given the multi‐purpose nature of miombo woodlands, an adaptive co‐management approach, which can achieve multiple objectives through encouraging participation, learning, and empowerment of local communities, could be an appropriate strategy to achieve sustainable land use management and maintain the provision of ES within miombo woodland landscapes of sub‐Saharan Africa.     

Toward energy and livelihoods security in Africa: Smallholder production and processing of bioenergy as a strategy

The past few years have seen a phenomenal rise in the production and consumption of biofuels and biodiesel at the global level. This development is of special significance to Africa, where about 550 million people (75% of the total population in Sub‐Saharan Africa) depend on traditional biomass (wood, charcoal, cow dung, etc.) and lack access to electricity or any kind of modern energy service. Derived from plants and agricultural crops, biofuels and biodiesel represent modern forms of bioenergy and more efficient use of biomass energy. Beyond efficiency, modern bioenergy offers tremendous opportunities to meet growing household energy demands, increase income, reduce poverty, and mitigate environmental degradation. In the African setting, energy and livelihoods security are indeed inseparable. This paper argues economic, social, and environmental benefits of modern bioenergy can be realized through a strategy that centres on smallholder production and processing schemes and pursuit of a livelihood approach to energy development. Such a scheme opens up new domestic markets, generates new cash incomes, improves social wellbeing, enhances new technology adoption, and lays the ground for rural economic transformation and sustainable land use. The paper concludes by underlining the vital importance of considering sound property rights and strategic planning of sustainable development as tools for sustainable energy and livelihoods security.     

Manure and adoption of modern seeds in cereal‐based systems in West African drylands: linkages and (non)complementarities

Using a stepwise approach that combines several econometric methods, we assessed whether or not the adoption of modern seeds and the use of manure in cereal‐based systems are linked and, if so, what are the driving forces of the linkages between these two agricultural technologies under dry‐climate conditions in West Africa. We found complementary and substitutability linkages arising from jointness and endogeneity between the two technologies. Specifically, our findings reveal positive joint determination along with negative endogeneity between the two technologies indicating that, controlling for observable variables, both technologies are positively linked, but unobserved factors that affect one adoption decision are negatively correlated with the other. After controlling for jointness and endogeneity, we found significant complementarity linkages showing a significant positive effect of manure use on the adoption of modern seeds, which is also significantly and positively affected by the number of cash crops grown and remittances. The two technologies are reversely affected by schooling and the incidence of soil fertility problems within the farm, whereas the amount of healthy land has a positive effect on both. The study suggests that organic fertilizer can serve as an enabling factor for greater adoption of modern seeds, especially in less favourable climate areas, and strongly supports the argument behind the need to breed seeds suitable for the use of organic fertilizers. These findings provide avenues for re‐orientation of policies that promote the use of modern seeds in dryland areas in sub‐Saharan Africa, with a possibility of breeding and promoting them in packages with organic fertilizers to upscale their adoption.     

Adoption of renewable soil fertility replenishment technologies in the southern African region: Lessons learnt and the way forward

Low soil fertility is one of the most important biophysical constraints to increasing agricultural productivity in sub‐Saharan Africa. Several renewable soil fertility replenishment (RSFR) technologies that are based on nutrient re‐cycling principles have been developed in southern Africa. Some success stories have been recorded (e.g. nitrogen‐fixing legumes), but the adoption of RSFR technologies has generally lagged behind scientific advances thereby reducing the potential impacts of the technologies. This paper describes the major RSFR technologies being promoted in the region, synthesizes available information regarding their adoption by farmers, and identifies the challenges, key lessons learnt and the way forward for up‐scaling RSFR technologies in the region. The review indicated that farmer uptake of RSFR technologies depends on several factors that can be grouped into broad categories: technology‐specific (e.g. soil type, management regime), household‐specific (e.g. farmer perceptions, resource endowment, household size), policy and institutions context within which RSFR is disseminated (inputs and output prices, land tenure and property rights), and geo‐spatial (performance of species across different bio‐physical conditions, location of village). Adoption of RSFR technologies can be enhanced by targeting them to their biophysical and social niches, facilitating appropriate policy and institutional contexts for dissemination, understanding the broader context and dynamics of the adoption process, a paradigm shift in the approach to the dissemination of RSFR (e.g. expanding RSFR to high value crop systems, exploring synergy with inorganic fertilizer) and, targeted incentive systems that encourage farmers to take cognizance of natural resource implications when making agricultural production decisions.     

How to “walk the talk”: The perspectives of sector staff on implementation of the rural water supply programme in Uganda

Many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa have adopted similar approaches to tackle the challenges of rural water supply, including community‐based management, community participation and the demand‐responsive approach. These are often combined with nationwide programmes of capacity‐building and decentralization. This paper first shows how Uganda has adopted these approaches in its rural water supply programme. Based on Government documents, we construct an organizational framework that illustrates the overall programme and outlines the roles and responsibilities which actors are expected to fulfil. Second, based on interviews with sector staff and a review of Government documents, the paper examines challenges to successfully “walk the talk”; that is, it provides insight into challenges affecting programme implementation. Among numerous difficulties, two key issues are highlighted: local political interference and the weak capacity of local governments. Concerning local political interference, local planning processes need to be reformed so that local politicians commit more strongly to improving water supply. Regarding local government capacity, the Government department responsible for the programme has established eight regional units that provide support to local governments. This promising strategy, combined with more appropriate engagement and the commitment of local politicians, should help to improve the implementation of the rural water supply programme in Uganda.     

人工增雨指挥系统构建与研究

为增加有效降水,降低干旱和雾霾等环境污染的影响,保护生态环境安全,研制了以提高开发空中水资源能力为主要目的、基于GIS技术的人工增雨作业决策指挥系统,依托新一代多普勒天气雷达、Micaps数据资料和自动站数据库,应用Microsoft C#语言开发了增雨作业预警和指挥功能、指挥信息和作业信息收集互传功能、增雨效果评估功能、常规业务管理功能,构建了功能较为完善的业务系统。     

Re‐thinking water scarcity: Can science and technology solve the global water crisis?

This paper provides examples from the last fifty years of scientific and technological innovations that provide relatively easy, quick and affordable means of addressing key water management issues. Scientific knowledge and technological innovation can help open up previously closed decision‐making systems. Four of these tools are discussed in this paper: a) the opportunities afforded by virtual water trade; b) the silent revolution for beneficial use of groundwater; c) salt water desalination; and finally, d) the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). Together these advances are changing the options available to address water and food security that have been predominant for centuries in the minds of most water decision‐makers.     

Rural market imperfections and the role of institutions in collective action to improve markets for the poor

Many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa have liberalized markets to improve efficiency and enhance market linkages for smallholder farmers. The expected positive response by the private sector in areas with limited market infrastructure has however been very limited. The functioning of markets is constrained by high transaction costs and coordination problems along the production‐to‐consumption value chain. New kinds of institutional arrangements are needed to reduce these costs and fill the vacuum left when governments withdrew from markets in the era of structural adjustments. One of these institutional innovations has been the strengthening of producer organizations and formation of collective marketing groups as instruments to remedy pervasive market failures in rural economies. The analysis presented here with a case study from eastern Kenya has shown that marketing groups pay 20–25% higher prices than other buyers to farmers while participation was also positively correlated with adoption of improved dryland legume varieties, crops not targeted by the formal extension system. However the effectiveness of marketing groups is undermined by external shocks and structural constraints that limit the volume of trade and access to capital and information, and require investments in complementary institutions and coordination mechanisms to exploit scale economies. Successful groups have shown high levels of collective action in the form of increased participatory decision making, member contributions and initial start‐up capital. Failure to pay on delivery, resulting from lack of capital credit, is a major constraint that stifles competitiveness of marketing groups relative to other buyers. These findings call for interventions that improve governance and participation; mechanisms for improving access to operating capital; and effective strategies for risk management and enhancing the business skills of farmer marketing groups.     

Agricultural Production Monitoring in the Sahel Using Remote Sensing: Present Possibilities and Research Needs

The main objective is to review the current status of research related to the monitoring of agricultural production in the Sahel (west Africa). The Sahel suffers from frequent shortages of food. It is therefore important to have a tool to monitor environmental variables, and thus crop production, during the agricultural season. Satellite remote sensing can contribute significantly to such a system by collecting information on crops and on environmental variables at a sub-continental geographical scale and with a high temporal frequency. One part of the problem is to estimate crop acreage. The technique of area-sampling frame has to adapted to the Sahelian landscape, which is dominated by traditional farming systems. The second part is to estimate crop yields. Three main approaches exist: statistical, semi-deterministic or deterministic. The use of vegetation indices is discussed as well as techniques to derive biophysical variables from remotely-sensed data. Finally, the integration of these remote-sensing techniques with crop-growth models is discussed and some research needs are identified. It is argued that the quantitative assessment of agricultural production in the Sahel should be based on the integration of remotely-sensed data with semi-deterministic agrometeorological models. This approach will allow a regionalization of the production estimates.     

Five-wheel framework for system-based monitoring of heavy metal pollution in rivers

Sectorial approach for monitoring heavy metal pollution in rivers has failed to report realistic pollution status and associated ecological and human health risks. The increasing spread of heavy metals from different sources and emerging risks to human and environmental health call for reexamining heavy metal pollution monitoring frameworks. Also, the sources, spread, and load of heavy metals in the environment have changed significantly over time, requiring consequent modification in the monitoring frameworks. Therefore, studies on heavy metal monitoring in rivers conducted in the last decade were evaluated for experimental designs, research frameworks, and data presentations. Most studies (∼99%) (i) lacked inclusiveness of all environmental compartments; (ii) focused on “one pollutant – one/two compartment” or sometimes “one pollutant – one compartment – one effect” approach; and (iii) remained “data-rich but information poor.” An ecological approach with integrative system thinking is proposed to develop a holistic approach for monitoring river pollution. It is visualized that heavy metal monitoring, risk analyses, and water management must incorporate tracking pollutants in different environmental compartments of a river (water, sediment, and floodplain/bank soil) and consider correlating it with riverbank land use. The systems-based pollution monitoring and assessment studies will reveal the critical factors that drive heavy metals pollutant movement in ecosystems and associated potential risks to the environment, wildlife, and humans. Also, water quality and pollution indexing tools would help better communicate complex pollution data and associated risks among all stakeholders. Therefore, integrating systems approaches in scientific- and policy-based tools would help sustainably manage the health of rivers, wildlife, and humans.     

Safeguarding livelihoods or exacerbating poverty? Artisanal mining and formalization in West Africa

In recent years, policy mechanisms to support a formalized artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) sector in sub‐Saharan Africa have gained increasing currency. Proponents of formalization argue that most social and environmental problems associated with the sector stem from the fact that ASM is predominantly unregulated and operates outside the legal sphere. This paper critically examines recent efforts to formalize artisanal and small‐scale mining in West Africa, drawing upon recent fieldwork carried out in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Mali. In exploring the sector's livelihood dimensions, the analysis suggests that bringing unregulated, informal mining activities into the legal domain remains a considerable challenge. The paper concludes by confirming the urgent need to refocus formalization strategies on the main livelihood challenges and constraints of small‐scale miners themselves, if poverty is to be alleviated and more benefits are to accrue to depressed communities in mineral‐rich regions.     

Justice in development? An analysis of water interventions in the rural South

This paper explores a fruitful convergence between the distributive and procedural dimensions of environmental justice theory and current debates in the field of development studies over capitals and capabilities, institutions, and discourse formation to shed new light on natural resource management projects in the developing world. Specifically, we document the planning and implementation of two types of water interventions in two contrasting regions: watershed development programmes in northeast India and small reservoirs in sub‐Saharan West Africa. We find that there is a contradiction between the inherently political nature of water interventions and the fact that such projects remain grounded in apolitical, technical and managerial narratives. In contrast to the new semantic of development, this depoliticization results in the near absence of attention paid to procedural (participation and empowerment) and distributive (equity) justice concerns and in local actors having to revert to covert ways to achieve their ends. A constructive dialogue between development studies and environmental justice scholars can offer a fresh look on the society‐environment nexus in the developing world.     

Combating drought through preparedness

Drought is a complex, slow–onset phenomenon that affects more people than any other natural hazard and results in serious economic, social, and environmental impacts. Although drought affects virtually all climatic regimes and has significant consequences in both developed and developing countries, its impacts are especially serious in developing countries where dryland agriculture predominates. The impacts of drought are often an indicator of unsustainable land and water management practices, and drought assistance or relief provided by governments and donors encourages land managers and others to continue these practices. This often results in a greater dependence on government and a decline in self–reliance. Moving from crisis to risk management will require the adoption of a new paradigm for land managers, governments, international and regional development organizations, and non–governmental organizations. This approach emphasizes preparedness, mitigation, and improved early warning systems (EWS) over emergency response and assistance measures. Article 10 of the Convention to Combat Desertification states that national action programmes should be established to identify the factors contributing to desertification and practical measures necessary to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. In the past 10 years, there has been considerable recognition by governments of the need to develop drought preparedness plans and policies to reduce the impacts of drought. Unfortunately, progress in drought preparedness during the last decade has been slow because most nations lack the institutional capacity and human and financial resources necessary to develop comprehensive drought plans and policies. Recent commitments by governments and international organizations and new drought monitoring technologies and planning and mitigation methodologies are cause for optimism. The challenge is the implementation of these new technologies and methodologies. It is critical for governments that possess this experience to share it with others through regional and global networks. One way to accomplish this goal is to create a network of regional networks on drought preparedness to expedite the adoption of drought preparedness tools to lessen the hardships associated with severe and extended drought episodes.     

Emerging Tools for Continuous Nutrient Monitoring Networks: Sensors Advancing Science and Water Resources Protection

Sensors and enabling technologies are becoming increasingly important tools for water quality monitoring and associated water resource management decisions. In particular, nutrient sensors are of interest because of the well‐known adverse effects of nutrient enrichment on coastal hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and impacts to human health. Accurate and timely information on nutrient concentrations and loads is integral to strategies designed to minimize risk to humans and manage the underlying drivers of water quality impairment. Using nitrate sensors as the primary example, we highlight the types of applications in freshwater and coastal environments that are likely to benefit from continuous, real‐time nutrient data. The concurrent emergence of new tools to integrate, manage, and share large datasets is critical to the successful use of nutrient sensors and has made it possible for the field of continuous monitoring to rapidly move forward. We highlight several near‐term opportunities for federal agencies, as well as the broader scientific and management community, that will help accelerate sensor development, build and leverage sites within a national network, and develop open data standards and data management protocols that are key to realizing the benefits of a large‐scale, integrated monitoring network. Investing in these opportunities will provide new information to guide management and policies designed to protect and restore our nation's water resources.     

分布式环境应用系统运行状态监控方法研究

环境信息化是环保能力建设的重要组成部分,是涵盖环保各项业务的一项基础性工作。随着环境保护相关应用系统的不断增加,极大增加了系统的运行维护难度,获取准确的系统运行信息、准确定位问题节点已经成为进行应用系统监控管理的重点和难点。针对环境信息化的发展现状和分布式系统的特点,本文将系统监控管理的对象分为应用类对象和系统类对象两类,并给出一种应用系统运行状态监控对象模型,明确的监控对象的确立方式,建立监控对象间的依赖关系,从而建立影响应用系统运行状况的因素拓扑关系。论述了应用类资源和系统类资源监控信息的获取方法,包括操作系统、中间件等系统类资源的监控机制,以及实时拨测、基于性能工具的监控、集成监控机制等应用类资源监控机制。给出了应用系统运行状态监控体系的技术架构,对各组成部分的主要功能进行了描述。在此基础上建立的应用系统运行状态监控系统能对应用系统的运行状态进行全面周期监控,并能准确定位问题发生的关键部位。     

环境监测管理信息系统的构建

针对目前环境监测信息管理的薄弱环节,从监测、综合以及管理等多个角度,对环境监测管理信息系统的总体架构、基本功能及技术要求进行探讨.     

浅析以科技信息为主线的环境协同治理

提高我国环境行政效率的关键是强化合作协调的环境治理理念,其核心载体是科技数据为核心的信息管理体系.科技进步与信息管理系统化决定着现代环境治理超越传统的危险防范而进入风险预防领域,也就决定了现代环境保护中合作与协调的核心理念.与环境保护的预防原则和环境许可制相适应,环境技术标准体系是现代环境科技信息体系的集中体现.同时环境法律监管体系也需要以信息系统和数据库为重点向综合环境治理发展,其中环境质量达标制(结果导向型监管)和环境治理中的规划都以环境信息综合集成管理为基础的.对于信息社会和互联网时代下、民主法治建设中、全球化进程里的中国环境治理,既有机遇又面临挑战.     

Risk Management of Sediment Stress: A Framework for Sediment Risk Management Research

Research related to the ecological risk management of sediment stress in watersheds is placed under a common conceptual framework in order to help promote the timely advance of decision support methods for aquatic resource managers and watershed-level planning. The proposed risk management research program relies heavily on model development and verification, and should be applied under an adaptive management approach. The framework is centered on using best management practices (BMPs), including eco-restoration. It is designed to encourage the development of numerical representations of the performance of these management options, the integration of this information into sediment transport simulation models that account for uncertainty in both input and output, and would use strategic environmental monitoring to guide sediment-related risk management decisions for mixed land use watersheds. The goal of this project was to provide a sound scientific framework based on recent state of the practice in sediment-related risk assessment and management for research and regulatory activities. As a result, shortcomings in the extant data and measurement and modeling tools were identified that can help determine future research direction. The compilation of information is beneficial to the coordination of related work being conducted within and across entities responsible for managing watershed-scale risks to aquatic ecosystems.     

Population crisis and desertification in the Sudano-Sahelian region

People living in the area just south of the Sahara Desert in Africa face their 3rd major drought since 1900. This drought brings about famine. Drought and famine are only manifestations of more profound problems: soil erosion and degradation. They diminish land productivity which aggravates the population's poverty. Yet soil erosion and degradation occur due to an expanding population. Continued pressures on the land and soil degradation results in desertification. The UN Environment Programme's Assessment of the Status and Trend of Desertification shows that between 1978-84 desertification spread. Expanding deserts now endanger 35% of the world's land and 20% of the population. In the thorn bush savanna zone, most people are subsistence farmers or herdsmen and rely on the soils, forests, and rangelands. Even though the mean population density in the Sahel is low, it is overpopulated since people concentrate in areas where water is available. These areas tend to be cities where near or total deforestation has already occurred. Between 1959-84, the population in the Sahel doubled so farmers have extended cultivation into marginal areas which are vulnerable to desertification. The livestock populations have also grown tremendously resulting in overgrazing and deforestation. People must cook their food which involves cutting down trees for fuelwood. Mismanagement of the land is the key cause for desertification, but the growing poor populations have no choice but to eke out an existence on increasingly marginal lands. Long fallow periods would allow the land to regain its fertility, but with the ever-increasing population this is almost impossible. Humans caused desertification. We can improve land use and farming methods to stop it.     

Integrating local and technical knowledge to support soil salinity monitoring in the Amudarya river basin

The role of monitoring is changing due to the increasing awareness of complexity and uncertainty in environmental resources management. Monitoring systems are required to support critical reflection about the effectiveness of actions toward the achievement of management objectives. To this aim, monitoring should be based on a strong integrated and multi-scale approach. Monitoring costs could be prohibitive if the monitoring is only based on traditional scientific methods of measurements. To deal with these issues, the design of an innovative monitoring system should be based on the integration between different sources of knowledge and information. In this work the usability of local knowledge to support environmental monitoring is investigated. A multi-step participatory monitoring design process has been implemented aiming to design a program for soil salinity monitoring in the lower Amudarya river basin in Uzbekistan. Although there is an increasing awareness of the importance of stakeholders being involved in decision processes, the current socio-cultural and institutional context is not favourable to the participatory approach. The choice of method to be implemented in this work was influenced by such conditions. The analysis of the lessons learned from the experiences gained in this project revealed some important clues concerning the development of a locally-based monitoring program. These lessons can be subdivided according to three fundamental issues: the long term involvement of local community members in monitoring activities, the acceptance of locally-based monitoring systems by decision makers, and the reliability of monitoring information.