A focus group study of factors that promote and constrain the use of satellite-derived fire products by resource managers in southern Africa

Semi-structured focus group interviews were employed to examine factors that affect the likelihood that resource managers in southern Africa will use information on vegetation fires provided by two satellite-derived products: an active fire product and a burned area product. The two products are updated regularly and aim to deliver the state-of-the-art in the global monitoring of fires from satellite remote-sensing. Both products are derived from data transmitted by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors carried onboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites. The active fire product can be accessed for free via the internet and on media by users working anywhere in the world; the burned area product will be accessible in a similar manner in 2006. The MODIS fire products provide systematic, near-global coverage and are freely available; as such, they give resource managers new opportunities to obtain or supplement information they need to manage vegetation fires effectively. However, the availability of these products does not mean that resource managers will use them, and many other factors are involved. To understand factors that affect whether southern African resource managers will use the two products, two focus groups were held with members of the Southern African Fire Network (SAFNet) in Malawi, Africa, August 2004. Analysis of the group discussions reveals a number of factors that influence whether they will use the products. The qualitative, in depth nature of the group discussions revealed 12 main factors that influence product use; not least the low international internet bandwidths for African countries outside of South Africa. Analysis of the group discussions also suggests how the uptake of MODIS fire products by resource managers in southern Africa might be enhanced by affecting specific changes to how MODIS products are packaged and delivered.     

Transport and degradation of ethanol in groundwater

Ethanol is rapidly replacing methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE), the primary fuel oxygenate in the US, and ethanol releases from spills and leaky underground storage tanks (LUSTs) are anticipated. Ethanol has received little attention as a potential groundwater contaminant. This study investigates the fate and transport of ethanol under transient conditions in a sand and gravel aquifer. A pulse containing approximately 220 mg L-1 ethanol and 16 mg L-1 bromide was injected into the shallow sand and gravel aquifer and monitored to estimate its persistence and transport. The plume was monitored for 2.5 months using downgradient multilevel samplers (MLSs). Values for ethanol retardation were measured from ethanol and bromide breakthrough data and compared to estimates using published Koc values for low carbon aquifer sediments (foc=10 microg C g-1 sediment). Ethanol transport was not retarded (R=0.99). A 3-dimensional model reasonably simulated bromide and ethanol breakthrough curves. An average first-order decay constant was estimated to be 0.32 d-1 (t1/2=2.2 d). At the second fence, 75% of the injected bromide and less than 3% of ethanol remained in the plume. Monitored terminal electron acceptor concentrations demonstrated that the majority of the ethanol was transformed by anaerobic processes other than denitrification and sulfate reduction.     

Demarcation of groundwater quality domains using GIS for best agricultural practices in the drought-prone Shanmuganadhi River basin of South India

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of groundwater in the drought-prone Shanmuganadhi River basin of south India for best agricultural...     

Learning and the transformative potential of citizen science

The number of collaborative initiatives between scientists and volunteers (i.e., citizen science) is increasing across many research fields. The promise of societal transformation together with scientific breakthroughs contributes to the current popularity of citizen science (CS) in the policy domain. We examined the transformative capacity of citizen science in particular learning through environmental CS as conservation tool. We reviewed the CS and social‐learning literature and examined 14 conservation projects across Europe that involved collaborative CS. We also developed a template that can be used to explore learning arrangements (i.e., learning events and materials) in CS projects and to explain how the desired outcomes can be achieved through CS learning. We found that recent studies aiming to define CS for analytical purposes often fail to improve the conceptual clarity of CS; CS programs may have transformative potential, especially for the development of individual skills, but such transformation is not necessarily occurring at the organizational and institutional levels; empirical evidence on simple learning outcomes, but the assertion of transformative effects of CS learning is often based on assumptions rather than empirical observation; and it is unanimous that learning in CS is considered important, but in practice it often goes unreported or unevaluated. In conclusion, we point to the need for reliable and transparent measurement of transformative effects for democratization of knowledge production.     

A preliminary study on the nature of particulate matters in vehicle fuel wastes

Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tunneling electron microscopy (TEM) studies of two solid vehicle wastes (pollutants) from petrol- and diesel-fueled engines of Kolkata (India) have detected a significant amount of ultrafine particles in the nanometer scale in these wastes. Both powder XRD and selected area electron diffraction from TEM have confirmed the existence of inhomogeneous distribution of nanocrystallites in these pollutants. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry shows that these wastes contain mainly carbon and oxygen as the constituent components. These pollutants are magnetic in nature as seen with SQUID magnetometry, and the presence of a high amount of carbon presumably is likely the origin of the magnetic property.     

A new approach to investigate the interactions between sediment transport and ecotoxicological processes during flood events

Purpose

The 'step-by step' principle was introduced into the European Union legislation on genetically modified organisms as a means to cope with uncertainty about environmental risks from the release of genetically modified organisms into the environment. The approval process is orientated along the stepwise reduction of containment which reflects a precautionary approach towards the risks of genetically modified organism release. Thus, the gradual reduction of containment should keep pace with the gradual generation of risk-related knowledge. This paper strives to clarify the meaning, legal status and practical importance of the principle. It also looks at whether non-European Union countries have adopted the principle as well, and how they practice it.

Methods

The article is based on research of the relevant legal texts, court cases and legal literature. In addition, a number of dossiers of applications for the European Union authorisation of release and placing on the market of genetically modified seed were analysed.

Results and conclusions

Although 'step-by-step' is not a precise legal rule it does have legal meaning as a principle guiding the risk assessment and management of genetically modified organism introduction into the environment. Assuming a process of gradual reduction of containment and scaling up of release ranging from closed systems via experimental release to cultivation the 'step-by-step principle' requires that the knowledge on environmental risks of genetically modified organisms should be generated on stages previous to the ones where the risk can result in damage. The analysis of the legislation of China, the United States of America and Brazil showed a differentiated approach towards the step-by-step principle.     

Exploring the feasibility of private micro flood insurance provision in Bangladesh

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the feasibility of the provision of micro flood insurance as an effective tool for spreading disaster risks in developing countries and examines the role of the institutional-organisational framework in assisting the design and implementation of such a micro flood insurance market. In Bangladesh, a private insurance market for property damage and livelihood risk due to natural disasters does not exist. Private insurance companies are reluctant to embark on an evidently unprofitable venture. Testing two different institutional-organisational models, this research reveals that the administration costs of micro-insurance play an important part in determining the long-term viability of micro flood insurance schemes. A government-facilitated process to overcome the differences observed in this study between the nonprofit micro-credit providers and profit-oriented private insurance companies is needed, building on the particular competence each party brings to the development of a viable micro flood insurance market through a public-private partnership.     

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.     

First report on chemometric modeling of hydrolysis half-lives of organic chemicals

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hydrolysis is one of the most important processes of transformation of organic chemicals in water. The rates of reactions, final chemical entities of...