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1.
Augustine A. Ayantunde Rainer Asse Mohammed Y. Said Abdou Fall 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2014,16(5):1097-1117
Transhumant pastoralism is one of the dominant livestock production systems in West Africa, and it is characterized by seasonal and cyclical movement of varying degrees between complementary ecological areas. The common pattern of transhumance is moving herds from areas with pasture and water scarcity such as the Sahelian zone to areas where the forage and water are found, often in the sub-humid zone. Whereas the transhumant herds from the Sahel are mainly Zebu breeds, endemic ruminant livestock (ERL) are the dominant breeds in sub-humid zone of West Africa because of their tolerance to tsetse-borne trypanosomosis disease. These livestock fulfill different functions in the livelihood of rural communities in the region. To identify potential areas of interventions for sustainable natural resource management to improve ERL productivity, a desk study that included spatial mapping was performed to review and document the existing knowledge on transhumance in West Africa. Additionally, group discussions were held to analyze the (actual or potential) effects of transhumant herds on natural resource management and ERL in the sub-humid zone. This study covered sub-humid zone in The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Senegal. The key question we addressed in this study was as follows: What are the key trends and changes in transhumant pastoralism and how do these impact sustainable management of natural resources including endemic livestock? The results of the desk study and group discussions showed that there have been more southerly movements by transhumant pastoralists into the sub-humid zone over the past three decades and this has contributed to growing competition for grazing resources. The presence of transhumant herds in the sub-humid zone has a potential impact on management and conservation of ERL through crossbreeding with transhumant Zebu breeds from the Sahel but only study sites in Mali showed a high risk. 相似文献
2.
The study focuses on evaluating factors that farmers consider relevant in adopting cassava production in five semi-arid zone
of West African countries. The study is based on primary data randomly collected as part of collaborative study of cassava
in semiarid zones of Africa (COSCASSA) village level survey from five West African countries namely: Nigeria, Ghana, Chad,
Niger and Burkina Faso. This study models effects of farm, farmer and technology specific factors on the decision of semi
arid farmers to adopt cassava into their farming system. By way of threshold decision models—Probit and Logit models, the
estimation of each country and the pooled data adoption models reveal different adoption models for the countries considered.
For each country, different variables appeared as major adoption shifters. Comparatively, the adoption models for Nigeria
and whole region appear to have the highest significance variables, being seven in number. This is followed by Chad (6), Ghana
(4), and Burkina Faso and Niger with three each. For the variables considered, distance to nearby urban market appears a major
adoption shifter in all the country, except for Niger. This is closely followed by contact with extension, variety, pest/disease
resistance and livestock feeds, which appear significant in four of the countries. Membership of cooperative societies appears
as the least adoption predictor, which is only significant in Chad republic. The study therefore recognizes the importance
of varietial characteristics and farmers’ characteristics in acceptance of cassava as a major root tuber crop in the semi
arid region of West Africa.
Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. 相似文献
3.
Sabine Douxchamps Mark T. Van Wijk Silvia Silvestri Abdoulaye S. Moussa Carlos Quiros Ndèye Yacine B. Ndour Saaka Buah Léopold Somé Mario Herrero Patricia Kristjanson Mathieu Ouedraogo Philip K. Thornton Piet Van Asten Robert Zougmoré Mariana C. Rufino 《Regional Environmental Change》2016,16(5):1305-1317
Adaptation strategies to reduce smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate variability and seasonality are needed given the frequency of extreme weather events predicted to increase during the next decades in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in West Africa. We explored the linkages between selected agricultural adaptation strategies (crop diversity, soil and water conservation, trees on farm, small ruminants, improved crop varieties, fertilizers), food security, farm household characteristics and farm productivity in three contrasting agro-ecological sites in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal). Differences in land area per capita and land productivity largely explained the variation in food security across sites. Based on land size and market orientation, four household types were distinguished (subsistence, diversified, extensive, intensified), with contrasting levels of food security and agricultural adaptation strategies. Income increased steadily with land size, and both income and land productivity increased with degree of market orientation. The adoption of agricultural adaptation strategies was widespread, although the intensity of practice varied across household types. Adaptation strategies improve the food security status of some households, but not all. Some strategies had a significant positive impact on land productivity, while others reduced vulnerability resulting in a more stable cash flow throughout the year. Our results show that for different household types, different adaptation strategies may be ‘climate-smart’. The typology developed in this study gives a good entry point to analyse which practices should be targeted to which type of smallholder farmers, and quantifies the effect of adaptation options on household food security. Subsequently, it will be crucial to empower farmers to access, test and modify these adaptation options, if they were to achieve higher levels of food security. 相似文献
4.
Srivastava Tapendra Kumar Singh Pushpa Verma Ram Ratan 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2022,24(3):3588-3618
Environment, Development and Sustainability - Weather variability over the long run exhibits the trends of change in climate and forewarns for development and deployment of adaptation measures.... 相似文献
5.
Solomon Zena Walelign 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2016,18(2):593-613
This article attempts to explore the nexus between rural households’ environmental dependency, poverty and livelihood strategies. Households’ income from each livelihood activities formed the basis for categorizing households according to livelihood strategies. The principal component analysis, agglomerative hierarchical and the k-means cluster analysis were employed to determine the four livelihood clusters and to assign households to the identified livelihood strategies. Households’ environmental dependency, poverty and asset holding were compared across the strategies, and the determinants of livelihood choice were analyzed using multinomial logit model. The results indicate the existence of marked differences in environmental dependency, rural poverty and asset endowments across the livelihood groups. Household’s total saving, access to credit, production implements, business cost, exposure to agricultural shock determined household’s access to a more remunerative livelihood strategy. Incomes from each livelihood activities for the identified livelihood strategies were analyzed, and their implications were also discussed. 相似文献
6.
Air pollution is a major environmental problem in urban areas worldwide. Delhi, the capital city of India, is no exception
to the universal pattern of deteriorating urban air quality with concentration of pollutants being well above the recommended
WHO levels. The magnitude and urgency of the problem as a global environmental issue needs a systematic understanding of the
potential causes of pollution and their contribution to air quality. In the present study, ambient air quality data (1987–2006)
of SO2, NO2, SPM, and RSPM were analyzed to asses the changing air quality in the study area and to evaluate the effect of measures taken
to control it. The primary data were collected from 1,583 households to examine the relationship between outdoor and indoor
pollution level. Based on the data, the current study concludes that despite the implementation of different pollution-controlling
measures, the pollutants, especially the particulate pollutants, were well above the standard limits set by CPCB. Integration
between technological and social approach of urban planning is required to mitigate and manage urban environmental problems
in sustainable manner. 相似文献
7.
In this study, we describe a spatially explicit scenario analysis of global change effects on the potential future trade-offs and conflicts between agriculture, energy generation, and grassland and wetland conservation in North Dakota (ND), USA. Integrated scenarios combining global policy, oil security, and climate change were applied to North Dakota using a spatial multi-criteria analysis shell. Spatial data describing climate changes and grassland, wetland, cropland, and energy distributions were used to characterize the geographical environment. The final multi-criteria framework examined the potential trade-offs between climate change, agricultural expansion, and energy generation resulting from global change scenarios on one hand, and the current footprint of wetlands and grasslands for six regions of ND that capture the major climate gradients and differences in land use. The results suggest that the tension between regional climate changes that may limit agricultural expansion, and global changes in food and energy security and commodity prices that favor agricultural expansion, may focus a zone of potential pressure on grasslands and wetland conversion in central ND and the Prairie Pothole Region. The balance between conservation programs, commodity prices, and land parcel productivity may determine grassland conversion, while wetland outcomes may almost totally depend upon regional climate change. 相似文献
8.
Biqing Zhu Johannes Kros Jan Peter Lesschen Igor Georgy Staritsky Wim de Vries 《Regional Environmental Change》2016,16(6):1571-1582
The global animal food chain has a large contribution to the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but its share and sources vary highly across the world. However, the assessment of GHG emissions from livestock production is subject to various uncertainties, which have not yet been well quantified at large spatial scale. We assessed the uncertainties in the relations between animal production (milk, meat, egg) and the CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions in Africa, Latin America and the European Union, using the MITERRA-Global model. The uncertainties in model inputs were derived from time series of statistical data, literature review or expert knowledge. These model inputs and parameters were further divided into nine groups based on type of data and affected greenhouse gas. The final model output uncertainty and the uncertainty contribution of each group of model inputs to the uncertainty were quantified using a Monte Carlo approach, taking into account their spatial and cross-correlation. GHG emissions and their uncertainties were determined per livestock sector, per product and per emission source category. Results show large variation in the GHG emissions and their uncertainties for different continents, livestock sectors products or source categories. The uncertainty of total GHG emissions from livestock sectors is higher in Africa and Latin America than in the European Union. The uncertainty of CH4 emission is lower than that for N2O and CO2. Livestock parameters, CH4 emission factors and N emission factors contribute most to the uncertainty in the total model output. The reliability of GHG emissions from livestock sectors is relatively high (low uncertainty) at continental level, but could be lower at country level. 相似文献
9.
Souleymane Paré Patrice Savadogo Mulualem Tigabu Jean Marie Ouadba Per Christer Odén 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2010,12(2):277-295
Traditional ecological knowledge and local experience of resource management and the usefulness of plant species can make
important contributions to attempts to understand forest ecosystems and to develop effective sustainable management strategies
for them. Therefore, the utilization of tree species by local people, their perceptions of changes in the surrounding forests,
and suggested solutions for associated problems, were studied in the Sissili province of southern Burkina Faso. Information
was collected through a combination of participatory rural appraisals, household interviews, and observational methods. Principal
component analysis was used to analyze the consumptive values of woody species and their respective parts. A total of 82 species
were identified, 90% of them were used for medicinal purposes, 78% for fodder, 73% for food, 67% for house construction, and
58% for wood carving. This suggests that forests play a key role in sustaining the rural livelihood and contributing to poverty
reduction. The various stakeholders perceived that vegetation clearing for cultivation of cash crops (agribusiness) was the
main driver of the change in forest cover. Species reported to be declining in the area included Parkia biglobosa, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Afzelia africana, Bombax costatum, Tamarindus indica, and Diospyros mespiliformis. Thus, a concerted effort should be made to manage the remaining natural forests in the country. Appropriate management strategies
should be developed jointly by the local communities and external support groups to integrate the valuable local knowledge
about forest species with the stakeholders’ suggestions in order to promote sustainable management of the region’s forest
ecosystems. 相似文献
10.
Sinsin Corine Bitossessi Laurenda Salako Kolawolé Valère Fandohan Adandé Belarmain Kouassi Konan Edouard Sinsin Brice Augustin Glèlè Kakaï Romain 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2022,24(4):4901-4917
Environment, Development and Sustainability - Mangroves are one of the most threatened ecosystems globally. Likewise, they benefit many restoration efforts. However, these efforts have often... 相似文献
11.
山区农户林业相关生计活动类型及影响因素 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
农户如何利用森林资源、发展林业情况是实现森林丰富地区农户生计改善和森林资源保护的关键。本文通过对西安周至县南部4个山区乡镇20个行政村1 074个农户的问卷调查,发现当地存在着4种与林业相关的生计活动类型,即:林业专业化、林业补充型、林业依赖型和生计多样化,该4种类型的农户在家庭人口数、初中以上受教育程度的人数、非农收入、户纯收入、贫困发生率等方面存在着显著差异。同时,被调查农户发展生计多样化出现了收入的两极分化,林业专业化农户的收入水平和消费状况总体上要好于生计多样化型农户。采用Multinomial Logit模型对农户林业相关生计活动类型选择的影响因素的分析发现,家庭劳动力数量、女性比例、是否参与退耕、土地林地面积、家庭社会网络等对农户选择不同的林业生计类型有着显著影响。基于实证研究的结果,本文认为应提高农户的人力资本、培育农村社区组织、提高其治理能力等。 相似文献
12.
水权是现代水治理体系中的关键环节;合理的水权制度有助于水资源的优化配置。我国旧有的水资源管理模式中水权不明晰、水权制度尚未建立健全,因而无法适应市场经济发展和水资源高效可持续利用的需要。美国的水权制度与其发达的市场经济相适应,其经验可资借鉴。美国的水资源治理实践表明,建立在市场经济基础之上、以法律和制度为保障的水权制度,对于水资源的高效配置和可持续利用具有积极的促进作用。对水资源财产权的明晰界定是美国水权制度的基石;水权的取得及其权责范围均有明确的法律规定并受法律保护。在保护私有水权的同时,美国水权制度兼顾联邦和地方利益,同时避免外部性产生。各州对水权的确权和管理因各自人文和自然状况的差异而异,但对水资源"合理有益的使用"是各州共有的理念。美国的水治理理念正从偏重水资源的经济价值转向日渐重视水的环境及人文价值。社会公平、效率的增进、交易成本的降低是美国水权制度演进的内在动力。经历了漫长的历史演化,美国的水权管理体系已日臻成熟,但依旧存在不同层面的水权冲突,因此仍然在实践中不断修正调适。我国应学习借鉴美国水治理的有益经验,并积极探索美国经验的中国转化。本文对美国现行水权体系中水权的取得、水权的范围以及水权的变更与中止进行了系统总结,并在此基础上对中国的水权制度建设提出构想,包括:以立法确立和保障水权、建立市场导向的水价形成机制、运用水价杠杆实施有效的水资源需求管理、培育水权交易市场、构建区域性水权管理规范等。 相似文献
13.
Nutrient export by rivers to the coastal waters of China: management strategies and future trends 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
We analyzed past and future trends in river export of dissolved nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to the coastal waters of China,
for a selection of rivers, as calculated by the Global NEWS models (Nutrient Export from WaterSheds). Over the period 1970–2000, river export of dissolved nutrients increased considerably,
especially of dissolved inorganic N and P. Anthropogenic sources of N and P in rivers have become increasingly important,
in particular N and P losses from agriculture. We tested the sensitivity of calculated nutrient export by rivers to changes
in selected controlling factors. The calculated export of dissolved N and P is sensitive to changes in hydrology, synthetic
fertilizer use and manure excretion in river basins. Changes in sewage inputs have large effects on dissolved inorganic P
export. We analyzed future trends up to 2050 for several scenarios to illustrate the combined effects of selected management
options. In the Base Scenario, the N and P export by the selected rivers increases considerably between 2000 and 2030. The
increase continues from 2030 to 2050 except for DIP. Strategies to reduce N and P export by rivers include changes in agriculture,
sewage and energy use. Changes in agriculture have the largest impact on future dissolved N and P river export to the coastal
waters of China. The effectiveness of reduction strategies differs between nutrient forms and basins. 相似文献
14.
Julius H. Kotir 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2011,13(3):587-605
Sub-Saharan Africa has been portrayed as the most vulnerable region to the impacts of global climate change because of its
reliance on agriculture which is highly sensitive to weather and climate variables such as temperature, precipitation, and
light and extreme events and low capacity for adaptation. This article reviews evidence on the scope and nature of the climate
change challenge; and assesses the impact of climate change on agriculture and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. From the
review, it is apparent that the climate in Africa is already exhibiting significant changes, evident by changes in average
temperature, change in amount of rainfall and patterns and the prevalence of frequency and intensity of weather extremes.
The review also revealed that although uncertainties exist with regards to the magnitude of impacts, climate will negatively
affect agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, as result of current and expected climate change, the
area suitable for agriculture, the length of growing seasons and yield potential, particularly along the margins of semi-arid
and arid areas, are expected to decrease. These impacts will affect all components of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and food stability and hence increase the risk of hunger in the region. The review thus confirms the general consensus that Sub-Saharan Africa
is the most vulnerable region to climate change. It suggests that, policymakers and development agencies should focus on formulating
and implementing policies and programmes that promote farm level adaptation strategies currently being practiced by farmers
across the region. 相似文献
15.
Resource use efficiency and economic losses: implications for sustainable rice production in Vietnam
Vo Hong Tu 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2017,19(1):285-300
The study aimed to estimate resource use efficiency and economic losses by using stochastic frontier analysis. The data set were collected in An Giang Province of Vietnam through personal interviews with 199 rice farmers. The results revealed that returns to scale are decreasing. Rice farmers had high levels of output-oriented and input-oriented technical efficiency with the means of 91.92 and 85.39 %, respectively. The mean environmental efficiency was 82.03 %. The mean efficiency of normal inputs was 61.20 %. Among the bad inputs, pesticide and energy were the least efficient ones with the mean values of 51.39 and 45.53 %, respectively, indicating serious overuses of these inputs. As regards normal inputs, capital had the lowest efficiency score at 21.08 %, followed by seed quantity at 26.4 %. Further, the total economic losses were estimated at 8261 thousand VND (380 USD) per hectare, which is equal to the sales of about 1600 kg of rice per hectare or the efforts to increase by 20 % of output level. This study suggests that rice farmers need to contract inputs, particularly environmentally detrimental inputs to improve profits. To improve the productive efficiency, the use of ecological engineering, collective pump and cultivation of three rice crops per year are possible options. 相似文献
16.
Climate warming has prolonged the optimization of crop-growing seasons,shortened actual growth periods,and changed crop-planting boundaries.It also has boosted crop yields in certain regions while compromising crop quality and affected the occurrence of meteorological disasters and pest diseases damage,which has resulted in reduction in grain yield.Crop production systems will evidence more sensitivity to climate change in future;for example,with an increase of 1°C in temperature,the average growth period will be shortened by 17 days for winter wheat and 7-8 days for maize and rice.Of course regional differences will exist.Climate change will threaten crop yield stability and affect crop quality.Vulnerability will be addressed in regard to extreme climatic events,which include reducing exposure and improving adaptive capacity,because the exposure of rain-fed agriculture is greater than that of irrigated agriculture.Therefore,we propose three suggestions to reduce the vulnerability of crop production systems to climate change.First,strengthen the evaluation capacity construction of sensitivity,which includes(1)refining and improving all types of evaluation indicator systems and models;(2)innovating and developing evaluation methods and tools;and(3)combining field observation and case studies,so that(1)the impact of climate change and sensitivity can be assessed scientifically;(2)uncertainty in the study can be identified and reduced;and(3)improved understanding of climate systems and their changes,climate change impact,and sensitivity will be achieved.Second,strengthen adaptive capacity construction for crop production systems,which includes(1)rebuilding existing farmland infrastructure to improve meteorological disaster defences;(2)adjusting agriculture structure and adopting new crop varieties with enhanced resistance;(3)popularizing water-saving technology and dry farming technology;and(4)further researching interdisciplinary theories and methods.Third,strengthen function construction for natural and social s 相似文献
17.
Dinesh Bhatt Shreedhar Maskey Mukand S. Babel Stefan Uhlenbrook Krishna C. Prasad 《Regional Environmental Change》2014,14(4):1291-1301
Understanding crop responses to climate is essential to cope with anticipated changes in temperature and precipitation. We investigated the climate–crop yield relationship and the impact of historical climate on yields of rice, maize and wheat in the Koshi basin of Nepal. The results show significant impact of growing season temperature and precipitation on crop production in the region. Rice, maize and wheat cultivated at altitudes below 1,100, 1,350 and 1,700 m amsl (above mean sea level), respectively, suffer from stress due to higher temperatures particularly during flowering and yield formation stages. Responses of crop yields to a unitary increment in growing season mean temperature vary from ?6 to 16 %, ?4 to 11 % and ?12 to 3 % for rice, maize and wheat, respectively, depending on the location and elevation in the basin. In most parts of the basin, we observe warming trends in growing season mean temperatures of rice, maize and wheat over the last few decades with clear evidence of negative impacts on yields. However, at some high-elevation areas, positive impacts of warming are also observed on rice and maize yields. If the observed trends in temperature continue in future, the impact is likely to be mostly negative on crop production in the basin. However, crop production may gain from the warming at relatively higher altitudes provided other conditions, e.g., water availability, soil fertility, are favorable. 相似文献
18.
We studied trends in food production and nitrous oxide emissions from India's agricultural sector between 1961 and 2000. Data
from Food and Agricultural Statistics (FAO) have been gathered covering production, consumption, fertilizer use and livestock
details. IPCC 1996 revised guidelines were followed in studying the variations in N2O-N emissions. Results suggest that total N2O-N emissions (direct, animal waste and indirect sources) increased ~6.1 times from ~0.048 to ~0.294 Tg N2O-N, over 40 years. Source-wise breakdown of emissions from 1961–2000 indicated that during 1961 most of the N2O-N inputs were from crop residues (61%) and biological nitrogen fixation (25%), while during 2000 the main sources were synthetic
fertilizer (~48%) and crop residues (19%). Direct emissions increased from ~0.031 to ~0.183 Tg. It is estimated that ~3.1%
of global N2O-N emissions comes from India. Trends in food production, primarily cereals (rice, wheat and coarse grains) and pulses, and
fertilizer consumption from 1961–2000 suggest that food production (cereals and pulses) increased only 3.7 times, while nitrogenous
fertilizer consumption increased ~43 times over this period, leading to extensive release of nitrogen to the atmosphere. From
this study, we infer that the challenge for Indian agriculture lies not only in increasing production but also in achieving
production stability while minimizing the impact to the environment, through various management and mitigation options. 相似文献
19.
Tagne Rufis Fregue Tiegam Dong Xiaobin Anagho Solomon G. Kaiser Serena Ulgiati Sergio 《Environment, Development and Sustainability》2021,23(10):14799-14826
Environment, Development and Sustainability - The use of fossil fuels in modern economies has been a success because of the low cost of fossil resources. However, the depletion of fossil reserves,... 相似文献
20.
Fertility status and management implications of wetland soils for sustainable crop production in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Fertility status of soils of three wetland types in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, was investigated. The wetland types are Inland Valley (IV), Flood Plain (FP) and Mangrove (MG). The soils have silt-clay ratios above 0.15 and 0.25 indicating that they are of young parent materials with low degree of weathering and possible weatherable minerals for plant nutrition. The pH of the soils was near neutral (>6.4) when wet but extremely acid (>3.5) when dried indicating that the soils are potential acid sulphate soils. Organic matter content was high with mean values of 12.59, 6.03 and 3.20% for IV, FP and MG soils, respectively. Total N (nitrogen) was low except in IV soils where the value was above the 0.30% critical level. The C:N ratios were narrow with mean of 20.90, 12.17 and 12.12 for IV, FP and MG soils, respectively. The contents of basic cations [Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Potasium (K) and Sodium (Na)] were low while acidic cations [Aluminium (Al) and Hydrogen (H)] were high. The Ca:Mg ratios were below the optimum range of 3:1 to 4:1 required for most crops. The Mg:K ratios were above 1.2, below which yields of crops like corn and soybean may be reduced. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) was below the 20 cmol/kg. Percent base saturation was low (<38) indicating that the soils are potentially less fertile. Exchangeable Al and percent Al saturation were high, above 60% in IV and FP soils. Electrical conductivity was above the critical value of 2 dsm−1 while exchangeable sodium percentage was less than 15. Available Phosphorus (P) and low, <10 ppm and free Fe2O3/clay ratios were <0.15. Positive correlation existed between silt and ECEC, implying that silt contributed to nutrient status of the soils. Generally, fertility status of the soil is low and would require maintenance of adequate organic matter, application of lime and organic and inorganic fertilizers, drainage and irrigation if the land is to be used for intensive/sustainable crop production. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. 相似文献