Effective management of natural resources, especially National Parks requires accurate and up-to-... more Effective management of natural resources, especially National Parks requires accurate and up-to-date information to guide park managers in making appropriate decision. The core of this book is to provide such information using GIS and remote sensing technologies to guide policy development in managing protected areas in Ghana. Some lessons and constraints are drawn from experiences of both developed and developing countries to understand how GIS and remote sensing technologies could assist with park management in Ghana. It is intended that the book would provide background data and operational research tools for the protected area managers, foresters, researchers, students and all those wishing further to investigate applications of remote sensing for planning nature reserves and natural resources.
American Journal of Environmental Engineering , 2024
The US Midwest region known for its web of lakes, rivers and vast swaths of farmland ranks high a... more The US Midwest region known for its web of lakes, rivers and vast swaths of farmland ranks high as the nation's food basket. Being a huge agricultural hub tied to global markets, the region's immediate influence spans across multiplicity of states supported by a flourishing supply chain network sustained by farming centers and activities in and outside of the Midwest. Notwithstanding the region's place as an active farm hub, it is slowly emerging as an epicenter of changing climatic hazards with the manifestations evident in different forms over the years. With many of the risks and recurrent changes now a common trend among various states. The impacts come under varying forms including impairment to the environment through damage to property, elevated and falling temperatures as well as displacement of people. In as much as several efforts have been made by agencies in the zone to remedy the situation. The changing climate in the Midwest does not occur in isolation, as most of that are attributed to socioeconomic , physical, environmental and policy elements located within the larger ecological system. Even at that, very little has been done in the literature to assess the changing climate situation in the study area using a mix scale model anchored in GIS and descriptive environmental statistics. Accordingly, this enquiry will fill that void in research by assessing climate change hazards in the Midwest using mix scale techniques and secondary data with emphasis on the issues, trends, impacts, factors, and efforts. In applying these tools, results show widespread surge in changing climatic impacts with exposures to severe risks in the surrounding ecology of the states. Furthermore, spatial mappings of change using GIS pinpointed the gradual diffusion of risks on clusters of areas deemed epicenters of disasters along heavily impacted spots over time, due to a set of factors from socioeconomic and physical variables. To address the risks, the paper offered solutions in the form of education, enactment of effective policies, the design of regional climate risks info systems and the installation of advanced early warning devices to alert the communities while ensuring public safety.
GMO farming practices continue to be at the center of debates surrounding food production and var... more GMO farming practices continue to be at the center of debates surrounding food production and varying debates on policy guiding US agriculture. On the one hand, many see the emergence of GMOs food in farming as a testament to the latest advances in technological innovations. On the other, there are those concerned about the threats posed to food safety and quality. Aside from that, in the last several years, the influence of GMOs in farming areas of the nation has gained widespread currency with applications in nutrient sprays, and the proliferation of bioengineered crops (soya bean, corn) with herbicide resistant traits and the capacity to endure weedkiller treatments that could have ruined the produces. With that came the adoption of herbicide resistant crops in which crops inserted with insect resistant traits are now vastly cultivated in areas across the country, especially the Mid-West region. Seeing the pros and cons surrounding GMOs in food production, very little exists on the issues and the areas devoted to it during production, the land use aspects, the regulatory dimensions, and distribution patterns. In view of the widespread usage of GMOs in agriculture and the dichotomy over the adoption of bioengineered alimentation in the agricultural sector. This paper will fill that void in research by assessing the adoption of GMO food production in the US Midwest with emphasis on the issues, trends, production, and land use interactions, and factors under mix scale methods based on the techniques of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and descriptive statistics. In applying the model, results point to rising changes in the proportion of areas devoted to GMO food production, concerns over the impacts, and growth in the adoption of core bio engineered crops. With all these attributed to socioeconomic and ecological factors, GIS mappings of the trends, pinpointed the gradual dispersion of various indicators clustered across GMO food producing areas within the Midwest region. To remedy the concerns and the divergent positions on GMOs in US agriculture, the paper recommends education, effective policy, transparency and dialogue among opposing views and the recourse to ethical guidelines regarding the production of bioengineered food.
Over the last years, the rapid increase in wildlife trade and the continued disappearance of enda... more Over the last years, the rapid increase in wildlife trade and the continued disappearance of endangered species has reached a frightening frequency in Africa. While such practices not only undermine sustainability, biodiversity and habitat protection, environmental services provided by natural areas and the species contained therein command infinite value. In the process, the incidence of poaching and illegal wildlife trade area threatens the protection of numerous bird mammal and amphibian species with extinction. In the face of all these, the species at risk lack protection over any part of their ranges due to the costs of management and hosts of socio-economic and physical elements. The heinous nature of these practices comes at the expense of biodiversity protection, global heritage and assets of communities endangered in different countries of Sub Saharan Africa region (SSA). Considering the gravity, illegal wildlife trade has emerged as an international development and environ...
Effective management of natural resources, especially National Parks requires accurate and up-to-... more Effective management of natural resources, especially National Parks requires accurate and up-to-date information to guide park managers in making appropriate decision. The core of this book is to provide such information using GIS and remote sensing technologies to guide policy development in managing protected areas in Ghana. Some lessons and constraints are drawn from experiences of both developed and developing countries to understand how GIS and remote sensing technologies could assist with park management in Ghana. It is intended that the book would provide background data and operational research tools for the protected area managers, foresters, researchers, students and all those wishing further to investigate applications of remote sensing for planning nature reserves and natural resources.
American Journal of Environmental Engineering , 2024
The US Midwest region known for its web of lakes, rivers and vast swaths of farmland ranks high a... more The US Midwest region known for its web of lakes, rivers and vast swaths of farmland ranks high as the nation's food basket. Being a huge agricultural hub tied to global markets, the region's immediate influence spans across multiplicity of states supported by a flourishing supply chain network sustained by farming centers and activities in and outside of the Midwest. Notwithstanding the region's place as an active farm hub, it is slowly emerging as an epicenter of changing climatic hazards with the manifestations evident in different forms over the years. With many of the risks and recurrent changes now a common trend among various states. The impacts come under varying forms including impairment to the environment through damage to property, elevated and falling temperatures as well as displacement of people. In as much as several efforts have been made by agencies in the zone to remedy the situation. The changing climate in the Midwest does not occur in isolation, as most of that are attributed to socioeconomic , physical, environmental and policy elements located within the larger ecological system. Even at that, very little has been done in the literature to assess the changing climate situation in the study area using a mix scale model anchored in GIS and descriptive environmental statistics. Accordingly, this enquiry will fill that void in research by assessing climate change hazards in the Midwest using mix scale techniques and secondary data with emphasis on the issues, trends, impacts, factors, and efforts. In applying these tools, results show widespread surge in changing climatic impacts with exposures to severe risks in the surrounding ecology of the states. Furthermore, spatial mappings of change using GIS pinpointed the gradual diffusion of risks on clusters of areas deemed epicenters of disasters along heavily impacted spots over time, due to a set of factors from socioeconomic and physical variables. To address the risks, the paper offered solutions in the form of education, enactment of effective policies, the design of regional climate risks info systems and the installation of advanced early warning devices to alert the communities while ensuring public safety.
GMO farming practices continue to be at the center of debates surrounding food production and var... more GMO farming practices continue to be at the center of debates surrounding food production and varying debates on policy guiding US agriculture. On the one hand, many see the emergence of GMOs food in farming as a testament to the latest advances in technological innovations. On the other, there are those concerned about the threats posed to food safety and quality. Aside from that, in the last several years, the influence of GMOs in farming areas of the nation has gained widespread currency with applications in nutrient sprays, and the proliferation of bioengineered crops (soya bean, corn) with herbicide resistant traits and the capacity to endure weedkiller treatments that could have ruined the produces. With that came the adoption of herbicide resistant crops in which crops inserted with insect resistant traits are now vastly cultivated in areas across the country, especially the Mid-West region. Seeing the pros and cons surrounding GMOs in food production, very little exists on the issues and the areas devoted to it during production, the land use aspects, the regulatory dimensions, and distribution patterns. In view of the widespread usage of GMOs in agriculture and the dichotomy over the adoption of bioengineered alimentation in the agricultural sector. This paper will fill that void in research by assessing the adoption of GMO food production in the US Midwest with emphasis on the issues, trends, production, and land use interactions, and factors under mix scale methods based on the techniques of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and descriptive statistics. In applying the model, results point to rising changes in the proportion of areas devoted to GMO food production, concerns over the impacts, and growth in the adoption of core bio engineered crops. With all these attributed to socioeconomic and ecological factors, GIS mappings of the trends, pinpointed the gradual dispersion of various indicators clustered across GMO food producing areas within the Midwest region. To remedy the concerns and the divergent positions on GMOs in US agriculture, the paper recommends education, effective policy, transparency and dialogue among opposing views and the recourse to ethical guidelines regarding the production of bioengineered food.
Over the last years, the rapid increase in wildlife trade and the continued disappearance of enda... more Over the last years, the rapid increase in wildlife trade and the continued disappearance of endangered species has reached a frightening frequency in Africa. While such practices not only undermine sustainability, biodiversity and habitat protection, environmental services provided by natural areas and the species contained therein command infinite value. In the process, the incidence of poaching and illegal wildlife trade area threatens the protection of numerous bird mammal and amphibian species with extinction. In the face of all these, the species at risk lack protection over any part of their ranges due to the costs of management and hosts of socio-economic and physical elements. The heinous nature of these practices comes at the expense of biodiversity protection, global heritage and assets of communities endangered in different countries of Sub Saharan Africa region (SSA). Considering the gravity, illegal wildlife trade has emerged as an international development and environ...
Namwamba (Southern University and A&M College) 1 , Dr. Yaw Twumasi (Southern University and A&M C... more Namwamba (Southern University and A&M College) 1 , Dr. Yaw Twumasi (Southern University and A&M College) 2 , Dr. Fulbert Namwamba (Salisburry University) 3 , Justin Egbe (Southern University and A&M College) 4 and Ronald Okwemba (Southern University and A&M College) 5 Lake Turkana, Africa's fourth largest lake and the world's largest desert lake, is in Kenya's northern arid and semi-arid lands. It is also the world's largest desert lake. The people in this region subsist mainly through pastoralism. The human and livestock population has significantly risen. This area suffers frequent droughts, leading to death of livestock in large numbers and destitution. Hence, for a period of over 40 years, this area has been a regular recipient of humanitarian relief food. Lake Turkana's catchment has an area of 130,860 square kilometers, both Kenya and Ethiopia. The lake is mainly sustained by the inflows of Ethiopia's Omo River. The river's contributions are about 90% of the lake's inflow. Since Lake Turkana is a closed watershed; gradual eventual evaporation of the inflows renders the lake water almost saline and hence, unfit for human consumption. The water is also unfitting for agriculture. It however, provides habitat for a thriving and diverse fish population. The Gibe III Project which includes damming of the Omo river to create of one of the world's largest dams is ongoing. The project threatens the livelihood of communities depending on Lake Turkana and its ecosystem. By the end of the project, the annual Omo river's inflow will be significantly reduced. The aim of this study is to quantify the negative impact of damming the Omo river on the people settled around Lake Turkana and resulting conflicts. The impact on the average depth of lake Turkana will also studied.
Climate change results in the changes in extreme weather and climate events. Increases in hurrica... more Climate change results in the changes in extreme weather and climate events. Increases in hurricane activity are linked to climate change by warming ocean temperatures because hurricanes draw more energy from warmer water and sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in the coastal regions. Mississippi Gulf Coast is not an exception. Due to the low sea level, the area experiences substantial flooding especially during hurricanes causing loss of life and billions of dollars of damages to properties. This calls for the need to find appropriate tools in an effort to reduce disaster risk caused by hurricane. Perhaps the most important element in the efforts to manage hurricane disasters along Mississippi Gulf Coast is to find appropriate technology to form the basis of future planning and management. This study therefore adopts Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique to map and visualize climate change impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Area. In doing so, this study will use sea elevation data, sea level rise data, coastal flooding data, inundation data, traffic data, and population data to help visualize climate change impact along the coast. Some quantitative predictions of coastal hazards and resulting losses under certain sea level rise scenarios will be discussed. The paper will also employ statistical data derived from spatial analysis on raster and vector GIS data to show the audiences about the sea level rise, flood frequency, confidence of inundation, and social vulnerability.
Flooding is a major problem facing Southern Africa region. In December 2007 and 2008, a global we... more Flooding is a major problem facing Southern Africa region. In December 2007 and 2008, a global weather pattern known as La Niña resulted in increased rainfall over Southern Africa causing floods and extensive socio-economic damage. Some of the most serious floods which occurred in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015 may have been enhanced by La Niña, which cools ocean waters in the equatorial Pacific and changes rainfall patterns across the world. According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, each year millions of dollars are spent to rebuild flood-related damages in the region. Although considerable studies on floods have been conducted in Southern Africa region, yet merely a handful of studies have been done on climate influence on extreme events. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of climate change on seasonal floods in Southern Africa. This research paper used both primary and secondary sources for data analysis. Historical data from the Meteorological weather stations in the study area were integrated with satellite data to assist in the investigation of the impact of climate change on seasonal floods in the Southern Africa region. The results of the study revealed notable environmental damage include, among others, degradation of the ecosystem, erosion of major roads, submerged farmlands and sediment loading of the major watercourses. The output of this research can be used as a benchmark of climate resilient flood management plan for Southern Africa region which has been experiencing flood damage in recent years.
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