Perceived stressors of climate vulnerability across scales in the Savannah zone of Ghana: a participatory approach

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are confronted with climatic and non-climatic stressors. Research attention has focused on climatic stressors, such as rainfall variability, with few empirical studies exploring non-climatic stressors and how these interact with climatic stressors at multiple scales to affect food security and livelihoods. This focus on climatic factors restricts understanding of the combinations of stressors that exacerbate the vulnerability of farming households and hampers the development of holistic climate change adaptation policies. This study addresses this particular research gap by adopting a multi-scale approach to understand how climatic and non-climatic stressors vary, and interact, across three spatial scales (household, community and district levels) to influence livelihood vulnerability of smallholder farming households in the Savannah zone of northern Ghana. This study across three case study villages utilises a series of participatory tools including semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The incidence, importance, severity and overall risk indices for stressors are calculated at the household, community, and district levels. Results show that climatic and non-climatic stressors were perceived differently; yet, there were a number of common stressors including lack of money, high cost of farm inputs, erratic rainfall, cattle destruction of crops, limited access to markets and lack of agricultural equipment that crossed all scales. Results indicate that the gender of respondents influenced the perception and severity assessment of stressors on rural livelihoods at the community level. Findings suggest a mismatch between local and district level priorities that have implications for policy and development of agricultural and related livelihoods in rural communities. Ghana’s climate change adaptation policies need to take a more holistic approach that integrates both climatic and non-climatic factors to ensure policy coherence between national climate adaptation plans and District development plans.     

What are the implications of sea-level rise for a 1.5, 2 and 3 °C rise in global mean temperatures in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and other vulnerable deltas?

Even if climate change mitigation is successful, sea levels will keep rising. With subsidence, relative sea-level rise represents a long-term threat to low-lying deltas. A large part of coastal Bangladesh was analysed using the Delta Dynamic Integrated Emulator Model to determine changes in flood depth, area and population affected given sea-level rise equivalent to global mean temperature rises of 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 °C with respect to pre-industrial for three ensemble members of a modified A1B scenario. Annual climate variability today (with approximately 1.0 °C of warming) is potentially more important, in terms of coastal impacts, than an additional 0.5 °C warming. In coastal Bangladesh, the average depth of flooding in protected areas is projected to double to between 0.07 and 0.09 m when temperatures are projected at 3.0 °C compared with 1.5 °C. In unprotected areas, the depth of flooding is projected to increase by approximately 50% to 0.21–0.27 m, whilst the average area inundated increases 2.5 times (from 5 to 13% of the region) in the same temperature frame. The greatest area of land flooded is projected in the central and north-east regions. In contrast, lower flood depths, less land area flooded and fewer people are projected in the poldered west of the region. Over multi-centennial timescales, climate change mitigation and controlled sedimentation to maintain relative delta height are key to a delta’s survival. With slow rates of sea-level rise, adaptation remains possible, but further support is required. Monitoring of sea-level rise and subsidence in deltas is recommended, together with improved datasets of elevation.

     

Changing morphology of Ghana’s Accra coast

Coastal features in Ghana's Accra coast reflect both past and present processes that have been undergoing changes. These changes are influenced by a range of morphogenic factors such as geology and climatic conditions. These regimes have shaped the coastal geomorphic features through weathering processes that decompose and disintegrate the coastal rock. Sea level rise due to climate change is expected to increase coastal erosion and thus result in rapid changes in shoreline positions. Historic rate of sea level rise in Accra coast is about 2 mm/yr (Ibe & Quelennec, 1989) which is predicted to reach approximately 6 mm/yr in the next century since it conforms to the global change (Armah et al., 2005). This will result in flooding of vulnerable areas and enable waves to break closer inland. The effectiveness of the erosion process is aided considerably by the type of geology. Accra coastal zone has three types of rock in three identified geomorphic regions. They include unconsolidated and poorly consolidated rock along the western region, the Accraian series occupying the central region and the Dahomeyan series in the eastern region. The geology has thus influenced the extent to which the coastal features have changed and the type of cliff that is formed as a result of erosion within the regions. Generally, soft rock coastal features decay more rapidly than those of hard rock and tend to act as sediment sources. Human activities such as dam construction over the Densu River, engineering interventions to check the spread of erosion and sand mining has created sediment deficit which has exacerbated coastal erosion in Accra. Anthropogenic factors are estimated to account for 70-90% of coastal erosion problems in Accra.     

Participatory incremental slum upgrading towards sustainability: an assessment of slum dwellers’ willingness and ability to pay for utility services

The concept of participatory slum upgrading has received attention in the conventional literature because it ensures and promotes the sustainability of slum-upgrading programmes. In participatory slum-upgrading programmes, slum dwellers are treated as partners, instead of recipients of the services that are provided to mitigate their deprivations. The concept thrives on the willingness and ability of slum dwellers to pay for the services. The ability of slum dwellers to pay for services, unlike their willingness to pay, has received limited research attentions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the willingness and ability of residents of a slum settlement in Kumasi in Ghana to pay for utility services. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to gather primary data from a total of 276 households. The survey data were supplemented with data from key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The results show that almost nine out of every ten households were willing to pay for water and electricity services, if these services would be supplied to them directly by the state providers. The exploitation of the residents by unregulated utility services providers partly explains their willingness to pay for the utility services. These service providers charged almost 14 times the official tariffs. The results further show that all the households who were willing to pay were also capable of paying for the services without compromising their ability to afford other life essentials. The study concludes that slum regularisation policies, programmes and projects could be designed to be incremental and participatory by making the slum dwellers, partners and drivers of the upgrading process.     

Effect of predicted sea level rise on tourism facilities along Ghana’s Accra coast

Recent sea-level rise has mostly been attributed to global warming and this process is expected to continue for centuries. The extent of the impact of sea level rise on tourism in Ghana is unknown though there are predictions that some prominent tourism facilities are at risk. This paper assessed the potential impact of enhanced sea level rise (ESLR) for different IPCC scenarios on tourism facilities along the coast of Accra. Shorelines for 1974 and 2005 were extracted from orthophotos and topographic maps, and vulnerability for tourism facilities estimated. Mean sea level measurements indicated an average rise of 3.3 mm/year, while the shoreline eroded by as much as 0.86 m/year. Predictions for Ghana showed 10 cm, 23.4 cm and 36.4 cm sea level rise for 2020, 2060 and 2100 respectively with 1990 as base year. Modelled predictions for the years 2020, 2060 and 2100 based on A2 (enhanced regional economic growth) and B2 (more environmentally focused) IPCC scenarios indicated that 13 tourism facilities are at risk to sea level rise. Out of the total number of tourism facilities at risk, 31 % cannot physically withstand the event of sea level rise hazard. In terms of socio-economic vulnerability, accommodation facilities are the most susceptible. Salinization and sanitation problems along the coast will adversely affect tourism.     

Urbanisation Without Development: Environmental and Health Implications in African Cities

Sustainable development advocates for a balance between socio-economic development and the environment in the pursuit of human advancement. In Africa, high population growth and inadequate infrastructure in urban areas exert pressure on the environment and this threatens the health and wellbeing of urban residents. The population of the African continent until the 1960s was predominantly rural. This scenario has taken a swift turn and some of the major shifts in the global urbanisation process are taking place on the continent. Factors including natural increase in the population, rural–urban migration, strife and hunger leading to the internal displacement of populations have exacerbated the urbanisation process in Africa. The situation has been worsened by the imposition of Western development policies, including structural adjustment programmes on African nations, which has eroded the subsistence base of rural agricultural communities and further ignited rural urban migration. The failure of industry to absorb the increasing labour force has created massive unemployment and deepening poverty crisis in urban centres. Inadequate provision of infrastructure and services to meet the growth in urban populations has resulted in inefficient spatial development of urban centres, the proliferation of squatter settlements, inadequate basic amenities including potable water, sanitation and waste disposal. Poor environmental sanitation has resulted in the upsurge of infectious diseases and deteriorating urban health. Urban populations in Africa are also the worst affected by newly emerging diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS. The poor bear a disproportionately large share of the problems due to their particular vulnerability to environmental and health risks. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Urban Waste Pollution in the Korle Lagoon, Accra, Ghana

The Korle Lagoon in Accra, Ghana, has become one of the most polluted water bodies on earth. It is the principal outlet through which all major drainage channels in the city empty their wastes into the sea. Large amounts of untreated industrial waste emptied into surface drains has led to severe pollution in the lagoon and disrupted its natural ecology. The increased levels of industrial activity and consumption by the urban population lead to the generation of copious quantities of waste. Managing the volume of wastes poses a major challenge for the city authorities, particularly, ensuring that all the waste generated is collected for disposal. In Accra, the Waste Management Department is currently capable of collecting only 60 percent of the waste generated daily. The rest is dumped in open spaces, in surface drains, and into water bodies which end up in the Korle Lagoon. High eutrophication levels have developed in the shallow water body. The net effect is that, at the slightest downpour, the lagoon overflows its banks causing regular flooding in parts of the city.The Government of Ghana, having realized the adverse impacts of pollution in the lagoon on the physical and economic environment of Accra, with the support of donor agencies, is implementing measures to restore the lagoon to its natural ecology. Attempts are also being made to get the communities in the catchment area to become involved in managing their environment through environmental education and awareness programes.     

Integrated biological treatment and biogas production in a small-scale slaughterhouse in rural Ghana.

A small-scale anaerobic slaughter waste treatment plant in rural Ghana was tested for the production of energy and a microbiologically clean effluent suitable for use in irrigation. A typical day's slaughter, comprising 4 cattle, 12 sheep, and 12 goats, produced 8.5 m3 of biogas. Annually, this is equivalent to the energy from 17 metric tons of fuel wood, which is the annual productivity of 2 ha of savanna vegetation. Fecal indicator bacteria were reduced by 2 to 3 logs, nitrates by 86 to 90%, phosphates by 23%, biochemical oxygen demand by 42 to 92%, and suspended solids and dissolved solids by 73 to 86% and 19 to 37%, respectively. The effluent is used for irrigation, and the organic biomass from the digester is used as a biofertilizer. Besides energy and a cleaner effluent, the community benefited from a lessening dependency on fuel wood and reductions in unpleasant smells and nuisance animals, such as flies, dogs, and vultures.     

The effect of the time of sampling on the compliance of bathing water in NW England with the EU Directive on bathing water quality

The ability of Morecambe’s three designated bathing waters to pass the EU Directive on Bathing Water Quality depends on the time of day when the sample is taken, the indicator organism tested for and whether the test uses the most strict (Guideline) or the least strict (Imperative) criteria. Morning and afternoon sampling for faecal coliforms, faecal streptococci and the pathogenCampylobacter was carried out monthly over the 1996 and 1997 bathing seasons. In the afternoons average faecal coliforms declined by 77% in 1996 and 87% in 1997 compared with the mornings, faecal streptococci by 79% and 83% and campylobacters by 66% and 86%. This decline in bacterial numbers between morning and afternoon was related to variations in water temperature and levels of ultraviolet radiation. All three bathing waters failed the Guideline criteria of the EU Directive on Bathing Water Quality. Using the Imperative criteria, no bathing waters passed in the mornings of either year, some passed in the afternoons of 1996 and all passed in the afternoons of 1997. The increased pass rate in 1997 coincided with improved sewage treatment, high temperatures and increased levels of sunshine. In 1997 sampling by the Environment Agency produced fewer failures than our morning sampling but more than our afternoon sampling. Their sampling was done around midday. It is suggested that where possible all sampling of EU designated bathing waters should be carried out in the early morning.     

Two and three-dimensional shoreline behaviour at a MESO-MACROTIDAL barred beach

The present work investigates cross-shore shoreline migration as well as its alongshore variability (with deformation) on timescales of days to years using 6 years of time-averaged video images. The variability of the shoreline is estimated through empirical statistical methods with comprehensive reference to three scales of variability. At the meso-to macro-tidal barred Biscarrosse beach, shoreline responds in decreasing order at seasonal (winter/summer cycles, 52%), event (storms, 28%) and inter-annual scales. Whereas seasonal evolution is dominated by wave climate modulation, short-term evolution is influenced by tidal range and surf-zone sandbar characteristics. The influence of tide range and sandbars increases when timescale decreases. This is even more the case for the alongshore deformation of the shoreline which is dominated by short-term evolution. An EOF analysis reveals that the first mode of shoreline change time series is associated with cross-shore migration and explains 58% of the shoreline variability. The rest of the modes are associated to deformation which explain 42% of shoreline variability.