Modelling the connection between energy consumption and carbon emissions in North Africa: Evidence from panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper explored the link between energy consumption and carbon emissions in North Africa through an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework....     

Contract farming and the adoption of climate change coping and adaptation strategies in the northern region of Ghana

In climate change adaptation, contract farming can facilitate the adoption of coping and adaptation strategies, but such dynamics are less understood in the literature. This study uses primary data collected from a cross section of crop farmers in northern Ghana and a simultaneous equation systems approach to examine the links between contract farming and adoption of climate change coping and adaptation strategies. The major coping and adaptation strategies used by farmers include spraying of farms with chemicals, row planting, mixed farming, mixed cropping and crop rotation. Econometric results confirm that contract farming enhances the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies, but there is also a feedback effect on contract farming, such that farmers adopting more adaptation strategies have higher probabilities to get contract offer. This makes contract farming a viable policy instrument to consider in climate change adaptation. Furthermore, land ownership and extension services exert significant positive influence on adoption. As much as possible, coping and adaptation strategies should effectively be communicated to crop farmers. Policy-wise, development actors and successive governments in Ghana should encourage and facilitate contract or group farming, as was in the case of the National Block Farming, led by Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture.     

Comparative analysis on financial viability of cocoa agroforestry systems in Ghana

This study employs an ex-ante analytical approach to explore the financial viability of cocoa agroforestry systems in Ghana using cross-sectional data on smallholder cocoa farmers in the Western Region of Ghana. The empirical results generally show that cocoa agroforestry systems are profitable, but the medium shade tends to be more profitable. The no-shade cocoa agroforestry has the highest yield compared with other cocoa agroforestry systems. Sensitivity analysis revealed that increasing the market price by 12.2 % tends to increase the profitability of cocoa agroforestry systems. Also increasing fertilizer price does not lead to any significant change in the profitability. The study recommends the medium-shade cocoa agroforestry system as the most profitable agroforestry system for optimizing ecological and economic outcomes of smallholder cocoa farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Conservation and Management of the Endangered Fiji Sago Palm, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Metroxylon vitiense</Emphasis>, in Fiji

Recovery planning is a key component of many threatened species conservation initiatives and can be a powerful awareness raising tool. One of the largest impediments to conservation efforts in the Pacific region however, is the lack of ecological data and its subsequent effects on the development of feasible and useful recovery plans for threatened species. Without these plans, the understaffed, underfunded and often technically ill-equipped conservation agencies face huge difficulties in planning, prioritizing and conducting conservation activities to adequately protect biodiversity. The Fiji sago palm, Metroxylon vitiense, is an endemic endangered palm species whose survival is heavily dependent on a feasible species recovery plan. It is geographically restricted and threatened by habitat destruction and overexploitation for thatch for the tourism industry and palm heart consumption by local consumers. Despite its threatened status, M. vitiense is not currently protected by national or international legislation. Recent field surveys and extensive stakeholder consultation have resulted in the production of a species recovery plan highlighting the importance of the species and advocating sustainable harvesting rather than complete bans to promote conservation. This article summarizes the recovery plan and its current effects on the status of M. vitiense in Fiji. We also discuss the role of different stakeholders in the conservation of M. vitiense, including the absence of significant behavioral changes by the largest consumer - the tourism industry, and the importance of recovery plans for biodiversity conservation in the Pacific.     

Validation of QuEChERS method for the determination of 36 pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables from Ghana,using gas chromatography with electron capture and pulsed flame photometric detectors

In this study, “Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe” ‘QuEChERS’ method was modified for the determination of 36 pesticides fortified at (0.01–1.0) mg kg^?1 in three vegetables and a fruit (lettuce, carrot, tomatoes and pineapples respectively) from Ghana. The method involved extraction with acetonitrile, phase separation with primary secondary amine and magnesium sulfate; the final injection solution was reconstituted in ethyl acetate. Organochlorine and synthetic pyrethroids residues were detected with electron capture detector whereas organophosphorus, pulsed flame photometric detector was used. The recoveries at different concentration levels (0.01, 0.1 and 1.0 mg kg^?1) were in the range of 83% and 93% with relative standard deviation ranging from 2% to 10% (n = 5) and the coefficient of determination (R²) was greater than 0.99 for all the 36 pesticides. The method was successfully tested on 120 real samples from Accra markets and this proved to be useful for monitoring purposes particularly in laboratories that have no gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.     

Long-Term Efficiency of Catalytic Converters Operating in Mexico City

ABSTRACT

A 1999 ordinance by the Government of Mexico City bans 1993 model-year vehicles from on-road operation if their catalytic converters are not replaced with new ones. To validate the benefits of this action, we examined three issues related to exhaust emissions of vehicles equipped with catalytic converters. After selecting representative fleets of in-use vehicles, a comparison between emissions and catalyst efficiency in cars with two categories of exhaust emission limits was carried out. For that purpose, two fleets were selected, each made up of 10 vehicles run under similar conditions. A third, larger fleet with emissions control systems was used to evaluate and simulate real-world conditions of vehicles in a controlled laboratory. Finally, the aging effect on the catalytic converter was studied on vehicles run for 100,000 km, replacing their old emission control devices for new ones.

The 1991-1992 model-year vehicles showed a high percentage of compliance with the corresponding emissions standard (90%) in comparison with 1993 model-year and later vehicles (Tier 0). However, NO_x emissions were higher for the newer vehicles. Fifty percent of the 1991-1992 model-year vehicles evaluated under the official inspection/maintenance (I/M) procedure did not meet the regulated emissions standard when the results were compared with those of the U.S. Federal Test Procedure     

Reuse of walnut shell waste in the development of fired ceramic bricks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The development of agricultural waste–doped fired bricks is an important step toward achieving lightweight eco-efficient bricks with improved...     

Anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in tropical bioaugmented zero water exchange aquaculture ponds

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Bioaugmented zero water exchange aquaculture production systems (ZWEAPS) maintained with minimal or no water exchange prevent the ammonia accumulation...     

Insecticide residues in the blood serum and domestic water source of cacao farmers in Southwestern Nigeria

The blood serum of cacao farmers and their domestic water sources were analyzed for insecticide residues in selected cacao growing communities of Southwestern Nigeria. The farmers were grouped into five exposure periods based on their years of involvement in insecticide application, viz, <5 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years, 15-19 years and >20 years. The residue analyses revealed that 42 out of the 76 farmers had residues of diazinon, endosulfan, propoxur and lindane in their blood; and 47.6% out of these farmers belonged in the >20 years exposure duration period. About 34% of the farmers had diazinon with a mean concentration of 0.067 mg kg(-1), 29% endosulfan (mean=0.033 mg kg(-1)), 23% propoxur (mean=0.095 mg kg(-1)), and 17% lindane (mean=0.080 mg kg(-1)) in their blood. The residues of lindane, endosulfan and propoxur in all the exposure duration categories were found to be far below the no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) while diazinon residues detected in the blood serum of the farmers in all the exposure duration categories exceeded the NOAEL of 0.02 mg kg(-1) for the insecticide. The study also revealed that the sources of drinking water had been contaminated with dazinon and propoxur in some of the farmers' localities; and the concentrations of the insecticides exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI). It is concluded that cacao farmers in Southwestern Nigeria may have been occupationally exposed due to insecticide application for mirid control in their cacao plantations; and the exposure at times is of such magnitude as to be hazardous to the farmers and their respective communities.     

The Palestinian water crisis

The Middle East is renowned as a water-scarce region. The severity of the problem in Palestine is not a result of climatic misfortune, however, but of regional water allocation and distribution of these resources, especially between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinian water supplies are currently insufficient to satisfy demand, and are increasingly degraded. Projected increases in regional population and demand are high, making it urgent to come to grips with the water shortage. Any attempt at resolution should consider three related areas within a single integrated water management formula. First, attempts must be made to resolve allocation disputes, governed by principles of international water law; second, conservation and appropriate utilization of water must be emphasized; and third, supplies must be enhanced, either through water import or other means. Only if the water shortage is analysed in an integrated manner will it be possible to ensure full resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli hydropolitical dispute .