scholarly journals An assessment of the potential of drylands in eight sub-Saharan African countries to produce bioenergy feedstocks

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Watson ◽  
R. A. Diaz-Chavez
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Bioenergy Feedstock ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sustainability Concept ◽  
Bioenergy Feedstocks ◽  
Sub Saharan

This paper synthesizes lessons learnt from research that aimed to identify land in the dryland regions of eight sub-Saharan African study countries where bioenergy feedstocks production has a low risk of detrimental environmental and socio-economic effects. The methodology involved using geographical information systems (GISs) to interrogate a wide range of datasets, aerial photograph and field verification, an extensive literature review, and obtaining information from a wide range of stakeholders. The GIS work revealed that Africa's drylands potentially have substantial areas available and agriculturally suitable for bioenergy feedstocks production. The other work showed that land-use and biomass dynamics in Africa's drylands are greatly influenced by the inherent ‘disequilibrium’ behaviour of these environments. This behaviour challenges the sustainability concept and perceptions regarding the drivers, nature and consequences of deforestation, land degradation and other factors. An assessment of the implications of this behaviour formed the basis for the practical guidance suggested for bioenergy feedstock producers and bioenergy policy makers.

Three Frontiers of the Southern Yucatán Peninsular Region and SYPR Project

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Turner II ◽  
D. R. Foster
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Land Change ◽  
Ecosystem Integrity ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Wide Range

Frontiers advance and retreat, both figuratively and literally. At this moment they are advancing in three ways relevant to the subject of this book and the ongoing project on which it is based. First, after more than a century of reductionist hegemony, various science communities worldwide increasingly recognize the need to improve complementary, synthesis understanding—a way of putting the reductionist pieces of the problem back together again in order to understand how the ‘whole’ system works and to identify the emergent properties that follow from the complex interactions of the pieces. Synthesis understanding is not, of course, new. In the late eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant argued for it as one of the pillars of science in the reorganization of knowledge in the European academy (Turner 2002a) and designated geography as one of the ‘synthesis sciences’. Its contemporary rediscovery, however, rests in the science of global environmental change (Lawton 2001; Steffen et al. 2002), especially efforts to model complex systems, such as those in ocean–atmosphere–land interactions, and has been expanded by emerging research agendas seeking to couple human and environment systems, often registered under the label of ‘sustainability science’ (e.g. Kates et al. 2001; NRC 1999). Second, within these developments landuse and land-cover change (or, simply, land change) is singled out because of its centrality to a wide range of environmental concerns, including global climate change, regional–local hydrological impacts, biodiversity, and, of course, human development and ecosystem integrity (e.g. Brookfield 1995; NRC 2000; Watson et al. 2001). The need to advance an integrated land-change science is also increasingly recognized, one in which human, ecological, and remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) sciences are intertwined in problem-solving (Liverman et al. 1998; Klepeis and Turner 2001; Turner 2002b). And central to this effort is the need to advance geographically (spatially) explicit land-change models that can explain and project coupled human-ecological systems, and thus serve a wide range of research and assessment constituencies, from carbon to biodiversity to human vulnerability (IGBP 1999; Irwin and Geoghegan 2001; Kates et al. 2001; Liverman et al. 1998; Veldkamp and Lambin 2001). These two developments—synthesis science and integrated land science directed towards geographically explicit land-change models—constitute the broader intellectual and research frontiers to which this work contributes.

scholarly journals The Demographic, Social, and Economic Correlates of HIV Infection Status in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eran Bendavid ◽  
Kajal Claypool ◽  
Eric Chow ◽  
Jake Chung ◽  
Don Mai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Head Of Household ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Statistical Support ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
Country Specific

Background. Predisposition to HIV+ is influenced by a wide range of correlated economic, environmental, demographic, social, and behavioral factors. While evidence among a candidate handful have strong evidence, there is lack of a consensus among the vast array of variables measured in large surveys. Methods. We performed a comprehensive data-driven search for correlates of HIV positivity in >600,000 participants of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) across 29 sub-Saharan African countries from 2003 to 2017. We associated a total of 7,251 and of 6,288 unique variables with HIV+ in females and males respectively in each of the 50 surveys. We performed a meta-analysis within countries to attain 29 country-specific associations. Results. We identified 344 (5.4% out possible) and 373 (5.1%) associations with HIV+ in males and females, respectively, with robust statistical support. The identified associations are consistent in directionality across countries and sexes. The association sizes among individual correlates and their predictive capability was low to modest, but comparable to established factors. Among the identified associations, variables identifying being head of household among females was identified in 17 countries with a mean odds ratio (OR) of 2.5 (OR range: 1.1-3.5, R2 = 0.01). Other common associations were identified with marital status, education, age, and ownership of land or livestock. Conclusions. Our continent-wide search for variables has identified under-recognized variables associated with HIV+ that are consistent across the continent and sex. Many of the association sizes are as high as established risk factors for HIV+, including male circumcision.

scholarly journals History and Prospects for African Land Governance: Institutions, Technology and ‘Land Rights for All’

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 292
Author(s):  
Robert Home
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Spatial Technology

Issues relating to land are specifically referred to in five of the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and UN-Habitat’s Global Land Tools Network views access to land and tenure security as key to achieving sustainable, inclusive and efficient cities. The African continent is growing in importance, with climate change and population pressure on land. This review explores an interdisciplinary approach, and identifies recent advances in geo-spatial technology relevant to land governance in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It discusses historical legacies of colonialism that affect the culture of its land administration institutions, through three levels of governance: international/regional, national and sub-national. Short narratives on land law are discussed for four Anglophone former British colonies of SSA. A wide range of sources are drawn upon: academic research across disciplines, and official publications of various actors, including land professions (particularly surveyors, lawyers and planners), government and wider society. The findings are that African countries have carried forward colonial land governance structures into the post-independence political settlement, and that a gulf exists between the institutions, language and cultures of land governance, and the mass of its peoples struggling with basic issues of survival. This gulf may be addressed by recent approaches to land administration and technological advances in geo-spatial technology, and by new knowledge networks and interactions.

scholarly journals Locating the “Local” in Peacebuilding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Kendhammer ◽  
Wyatt Chandler
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
International Donors ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Subnational Conflict

Drawing on an extensive literature review and four case studies from leading examples of post-conflict local peacebuilding in sub-Saharan Africa, this report argues that the “local” in local peacebuilding is best defined as local knowledge of conflict drivers and dynamics and locally defined, contextually specific definitions of peace. This does not necessarily mean working through or empowering “traditional” actors and institutions (a highly contested category, in any case). Nor should it mean a narrow focus on subnational conflict drivers and peace actors to the detriment of assessing how national and international dynamics shape local peace challenges (and vice versa). International donors and peace actors are most successful when they operate with a keen awareness that all potential peacebuilding actors (national and local actors, but also external donors, "experts," and implementers) have their own agendas and that peacebuilding efforts that work at the sub-national level and engage local actors are not automatically endowed with legitimacy and community buy-in just because of their "localness." International actors must also be flexible and open to partnering with a wide range of local actors, including those that don’t meet preconceived international expectations about what an effective local partner looks like (often, old, male, and "traditional").

scholarly journals Map Whiteboard Cloud Solution for Collaborative Editing of Geographic Information

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-55
Author(s):  
Karel Charvat ◽  
Runar Bergheim ◽  
Raitis Bērziņš ◽  
František Zadražil ◽  
Dailis Langovskis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Web Gis ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Web Mapping ◽  
Collaborative Editing ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government

For the purpose of exploiting the potential of cloud connectivity in geographical information systems, the Map Whiteboard technology introduced in this article does for web mapping what Google Docs does for word processing; create a shared user interface where multiple parties collaboratively can develop maps and map data while seeing each other work in realtime. To develop the Map Whiteboard concept, we have applied a methodology whereby we have collected technical and functional requirements through a series of hackathons, implemented a prototype in several stages, and subjected this to rigorous testing in a lab environment and with selected users from relevant environments at intermediate scale. The work has resulted in a fully functional prototype that exploits WebSockets via a cloud service to reflect map and data changes between multiple connected clients. The technology has a demonstrated potential for use in a wide range of web GIS applications, something that is facilitated by the interfaces already implemented towards mainstream mapping frameworks like OpenLayers and QGIS-two of the most popular frameworks for Web GIS solutions. Further development and testing are required before operationalization in mission-critical environments. In conclusion, the Map Whiteboard concept offers a starting point for exploiting cloud connectivity within GIS to facilitate the digitalization of common processes within the government and private sector. The technology is ready for early adopters and welcomes the contribution of interested parties.

scholarly journals Fertility transition in selected sub-Saharan African countries: the role of family planning programs

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1748
Author(s):  
Vincent Otieno ◽  
Alfred Agwanda ◽  
Anne Khasakhala
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Fertility Transition ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Fertility Preference ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Control Technologies

Background: Change in fertility rate across societies is a complex process that involves changes in the demand for children, the diffusion of new attitudes about family planning and greater accessibility to contraception provided by family planning programs. Among the neo-Malthusian adherents, it is believed that rapid population growth strain countries’ capacity and performance. Fertility has, however, decelerated in most countries in the recent past. Scholars have concentrated on wide range of factors associated with fertility majorly at the national scale. However, considerably less attention has been paid to the fertility preference - a pathway through which various variables act on fertility. The Sub-Saharan African countries’ disparities amid almost similarities in policies is a cause of concern to demographers. Methods: Using Bongaarts reformulation of Easterlin and Crimmins conceptual scheme of 1985 on Demographic and Health Survey Data (DHS) data collected overtime across countries, the understanding of the current transition in general would help to reassess and provide explanations to the observed latest fertility dynamics at play. This study therefore is an attempt to explain the current fertility transition through women’s fertility preference. Results: Results reveal that indeed fertility transition is diverse across countries though generally on a decline course in most of the sub-Saharan countries. The huge disparities in fertility preferences among women of reproductive age and its non-significant change in the implementation indices overtime points at the levels of unmet need to contraception underneath as well as the proportion of demand to family planning commodities satisfied by programs in a bid to allow women implement their fertility desires. Conclusions: It is therefore plausible to conclude that the improvement of the availability and the uptake of quality birth control technologies is one of the most feasible means through which countries can fast track their fertility transitions.

Parties or Portfolio? The Economic Consequences of Africa’s Big Cabinets

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Carl LeVan ◽  
Assen Assenov
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Colonial Legacy ◽  
Policy Performance ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
Size Constraints ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Using Data

Does cabinet size have an impact on economic policy in Africa? The average number of ministers has increased steadily for four decades, yet we know little about the economic effects of new portfolios, despite popular complaints about costly cabinets. Comparative studies generate conflicting expectations, either blaming coalition governments for patronage or crediting them with economic restraint. Using data on 45 Sub-Saharan African countries between 1971 and 2006, our empirical analysis links parties and portfolios to budgetary policy performance. We show that cabinets with more ministries are associated with budget surpluses, but they are also slightly more likely to engage in patronage spending. Next, we find that cabinets governing through multiparty coalitions have no consistent impact on budget surpluses. However, they are strongly associated with less extractive government and lower rates of patronage spending compared with single-party cabinets. These results hold after controlling for the type of colonial legacy, economic conditions, population size, constraints on executives, level of democracy, oil income, type of party system and ethnic and religious fractionalization. We conclude that parties and portfolios are both important but they have different effects: adding portfolios to the cabinet may improve economic outcomes by enhancing specialization, but governance through multiparty cabinets generates incentives to both limit extraction and restrain patronage spending.

scholarly journals An interactive learning environment in Geographical Information Systems

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Cornelius ◽  
Ian Heywood
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Interactive Learning Environment ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Gis Software ◽  
Environmental Agencies

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are computer-based tools for the input, management, analysis, modelling and display of geographical data. GIS are applied in a wide range of organizations and disciplines, including central and local government, environmental agencies, transport planning and vehicle navigation, education and research, utilities management, resource management, and the financial and retail sectors. GIS is a field of constantly changing technology, and it has been recognized that GIS education needs to be more than a 'once in a lifetime' event (Muller, 1993). Consequently, GIS teachers have developed computer-based materials for learners at all levels, from school students to postgraduates, and for the independent professional updating their skills and knowledge. To date, these materials have followed a number of approaches. Initially demonstrations of GIS software and its capabilities addressed the need to increase awareness of GIS and its applications (DoE, 1987). Arcdemo (Green, 1987) was an innovative early example, providing a demonstration of the software package Arc/Info online. Training in particular software, and the need for hands-on experience, have been addressed with the production of software-specific educational materials which use primarily traditional text-based instructions for exercises with specially prepared data. Examples include Getting started in GIS (Langford, 1993), the Unitar workbooks for Idrisi (for example McKendry et al, 1992) and Understanding GIS: the Arc/Info Method (ESRI, 1990). These have proved particularly popular, and by directing learners through structured exercises allow new users to become familiar with complex software in a relatively short time. More recently, they have migrated to CD-ROM, with training materials such as Getting to know Arcview (ESRI, 1995) provided in this format, and combining software, data and demonstrations.DOI:10.1080/0968776980060204

Development and Evolution of a Site Survey System: Groundhog

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Davies ◽  
Robert Murley ◽  
Ian Adsley
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Database Systems ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Quality Assurance Programme ◽  
Contaminated Land ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Survey System ◽  
A Site

Traditional techniques for the assessment of pollutants in contaminated land, notably brown-field sites, may not yield the speed and accuracy now required for estimates of risk and remediation cost. Detailed site investigation is often limited by the time and cost of laboratory-based analysis techniques and time-consuming data collation phases. Thus, relatively straightforward technical issues, such as the mapping of priority areas of a site, can be unnecessarily delayed and expensive. The GROUNDHOG system was developed to address these problems and to provide a platform for the development of a range of techniques for the radiological survey of potentially contaminated land. The system brings together the best of well-established and recent technologies. Visualisation of the survey results is improved by the use of Geographical Information Systems and Database systems allow an audit trail to be maintained as part of a Quality Assurance programme. Development of the Groundhog system has continued, increasing the sensitivity of the system for some applications, using gamma radiation spectrometry systems to provide qualitative measurements and constructing ruggedised systems for surveys of areas where the risks associated with manual surveys are deemed unacceptable. In recent years, ‘conventional’ Groundhog surveys have been performed on many nuclear and non-nuclear sites, for a wide range of reasons: de-licensing nuclear facilities; pre- and post-remediation surveys of contaminated land; during the remediation of contaminated land, to reduce waste volume. Specialised versions of the system have been developed and used for the location of discrete nuclear fuel ‘particles’ on beaches, sub-surface measurements have been made for estimating waste volume and a submarine survey has been conducted. This paper describes some of the projects completed and the technologies used to perform the work.

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