Towards Conservation of Coastal Wetlands: An Assessment of The Ecological Health Status of A Neglected Lagoon In Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Fafa Awushie Akwetey ◽  
Sika Abrokwah ◽  
Richard Adade ◽  
Gertrude Lucky Aku Dali ◽  
Ivy Serwaa Gyimah Akuoko
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Coastal Wetlands ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Ecological Health ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Current State ◽  
Remedial Actions ◽  
Capitella Capitata

Abstract Coastal wetlands are important ecosystems that support biological communities and human populations. Anthropogenic activities have over the years affected these coastal wetlands globally leading to a loss of about 50% of these areas. There have therefore been calls to conserve these wetlands in order to sustain future generations. However, data to support conservation efforts on most of these ecosystems is lacking. The ecological health status of an aquatic system is one indicator that can form the basis of conservation or restoration actions. In Ghana, the Brenu Lagoon in the Central Region has been neglected in terms of ecological health research over the years. This study therefore aimed at assessing the ecological health of the Brenu lagoon using benthic macroinvertebrates. The study showed that the lagoon is hypersaline and moderately polluted with a dominance of two stress-tolerant species – Capitella Capitata and Ampithoe sp. The current state of pollution of the lagoon may be associated with waste disposal and agricultural activities within the catchment of the lagoon. Further studies are required to establish the linkage between these activities and the state of the lagoon on the basis of which remedial actions can be taken.

Assessment of the health status of the population and the environmental situation in the Spassky District

1993 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 407-410
Author(s):  
V. A. Trifonov ◽  
V. V. Gasilin ◽  
N. H. Fatkhullina ◽  
F. Sh. Shigapova ◽  
M. Z. Minniyarova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Industrial Production ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Environmental Study ◽  
Ecological Situation ◽  
Livestock Products ◽  
Medical Examinations ◽  
Important State

In the context of the accelerated development of scientific and technological progress and the growth of industrial production, one of the most important state tasks is the protection of the environment and the health of living and future generations of people. In order to study the health status of the population and the ecological situation in the Spassky region of Tataria, we carried out a comprehensive environmental study of snow cover, drinking water, soil, crop and livestock products for the content of radionuclides, pesticides of 14 groups in food, nitrosamines in everyday products. In-depth medical examinations were attended by specialists from the RCH (oncologist, surgeon, therapist, neuropathologist, etc.).

scholarly journals Using plants to remediate or manage metal-polluted soils: an overview on the current state of phytotechnologies

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. e58283
Author(s):  
Clístenes Williams Araújo do Nascimento ◽  
Caroline Miranda Biondi ◽  
Fernando Bruno Vieira da Silva ◽  
Luiz Henrique Vieira Lima
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Polluted Soils ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Current State ◽  
Remedial Actions ◽  
The Tropics

Soil contamination by metals threatens both the environment and human health and hence requires remedial actions. The conventional approach of removing polluted soils and replacing them with clean soils (excavation) is very costly for low-value sites and not feasible on a large scale. In this scenario, phytoremediation emerged as a promising cost-effective and environmentally-friendly technology to render metals less bioavailable (phytostabilization) or clean up metal-polluted soils (phytoextraction). Phytostabilization has demonstrable successes in mining sites and brownfields. On the other hand, phytoextraction still has few examples of successful applications. Either by using hyperaccumulating plants or high biomass plants induced to accumulate metals through chelator addition to the soil, major phytoextraction bottlenecks remain, mainly the extended time frame to remediation and lack of revenue from the land during the process. Due to these drawbacks, phytomanagement has been proposed to provide economic, environmental, and social benefits until the contaminated site returns to productive usage. Here, we review the evolution, promises, and limitations of these phytotechnologies. Despite the lack of commercial phytoextraction operations, there have been significant advances in understanding phytotechnologies' main constraints. Further investigation on new plant species, especially in the tropics, and soil amendments can potentially provide the basis to transform phytoextraction into an operational metal clean-up technology in the future. However, at the current state of the art, phytotechnology is moving the focus from remediation technologies to pollution attenuation and palliative cares.

scholarly journals Characterization of macro-benthic fauna for ecological health status of the Fosu and Benya lagoons in coastal Ghana

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-289
Author(s):  
Frederick A. Armah ◽  
Benjamin Ason ◽  
Isaac Luginaah ◽  
Paul K. Essandoh
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Ecological Health

scholarly journals Main biostratigraphic stages in the Earth history. Technogenic scenarios

2013 ◽  
pp. 127-138
Author(s):  
G. Rudko ◽  
P. Zagorodnyuk
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Continuous Transformation ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Global Catastrophe

The biostratigraphic history of the Earth as a process of continuous transformation and adaptation from the primary forms of life and till its current state had been considered in the present article.  The development of life on the Earth had started due to the changes of geological processes, changes of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and the aquatic environment, within the period of global catastrophe. As a result of more than 3.8 billion years the anthropogenic system «human – geological and related environment» was formed; it transformed the biosphere in accordance with the needs of human, creating the precedent of inconsistency between human needs and biosphere resources.  The basic scenarios of human and biosphere development within the technogene were defined. The results of studies helped to identify the biostratigraphic conditions of the Earth life. The article investigates scenarios of technogene development as well as the role of human under the conditions of intensive biosphere transformation due to the anthropogenic activities.   

scholarly journals Status of Air Pollution in Botswana and Significance to Air Quality and Human Health

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (15) ◽  
pp. 8-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Modise Wiston
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Vehicular Emissions ◽  
Competing Interests ◽  
The World

Background. Air pollution is an important issue in developed and industrialized countries. The most common sources of air pollution are anthropogenic activities such as construction dust, vehicular emissions and mining. For low- and middle-income countries, biomass burning and indoor heating are the leading sources of air pollution. As more of the world undergoes development and human populations increase, industrialization is also increasing, along with the potential for air pollution. Objectives. This article reviews the status of air pollution to raise awareness of air quality and human health in Botswana. Discussion. Since independence, Botswana has experienced one of the highest economic development growth rates in the world. These changes have occurred as a result of economic growth and resource utilization associated with increased industrialization. However, there is growing worldwide concern about the effect and impact of pollution due to industrial growth. Botswana is ranked amongst the most polluted countries with serious air pollution, despite a population of just over 2 million. Conclusions. Rapid development and increased urbanization have had a major environmental impact around the world. This increased growth has the potential to lead to air quality degradation. Significant health threats are posed by industrial and vehicular emissions, especially in urban and peri-urban areas where the population is most concentrated. It is important that the linkage between air pollution and health effects is fully examined across all scales of life, especially in developing countries. In addition, programs should be devised to educate the public about the pollution impacts on health. Competing Interests: The authors declare no financial competing interests.

The Socio-Ethical Implications of Automatic Identification and Location Services

2011 ◽  
pp. 364-400
Author(s):  
Katina Michael ◽  
M.G. Michael
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
New Product ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Location Services ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Current State ◽  
Product Innovations ◽  
The Social

The number of automatic identification (auto-ID) technologies being utilized in eBusiness applications is growing rapidly. With an increasing trend toward miniaturization and wireless capabilities, auto-ID and LBS technologies are becoming more and more pervasive. The pace at which new product innovations are being introduced far outweighs the ability for citizens to absorb what these changes actually mean, and what their likely impact will be upon future generations. This chapter attempts to cover a broad spectrum of issues ranging from the social, cultural, religious and ethical implications of auto-ID with an emphasis on human transponder implants. Previous work is brought together and presented in a way that offers a holistic view of the current state of proceedings on the topic.

Impacts of Hazardous Waste on Soil Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 18-35
Author(s):  
Jatinder Kaur Katnoria ◽  
Priyanka Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Aromatic Compounds ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Severe Toxicity ◽  
Soil Ecosystem ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Special Concern ◽  
Hazardous Compounds

Soil, a natural medium for plant growth, provides the anchorage to the plants and supplies various nutrients required for the plant growth. It is an important ecosystem that not only provides the shelter to various organisms but also participates directly or indirectly in various biogeochemical cycles. However, in recent years, the earth's soil has been stripped away, rendered sterile, and contaminated with toxic chemicals due to various anthropogenic activities. This increasing wide spread pollution has caused vast areas of land to become non-arable and hazardous for both wildlife and human populations. Unlike many other organic pollutants, which are degraded in the soils, some of the hazardous compounds like heavy metals, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and phthalates are of special concern as most of these are conserved. The presence of such compounds in soil ecosystem causes severe toxicity and imbalances in the soil ecosystem as a whole. The chapter focuses on various sources of soil pollutants and the effects of hazardous compounds on soil health.

Assessment of Natural Cleaning and Biological Colonization On Oiled Rocky Shores: In Situ Experiments

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 1071-1074
Author(s):  
Lénaïck Menot ◽  
Claude Chassé ◽  
Loïc Kerambrun
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Tidal Elevation ◽  
Exposed Site ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Light Crude Oil ◽  
In Situ Experiments ◽  
Remedial Actions

ABSTRACT When exposed rocky shores are affected by oil spills, the advised cleanup option, in most cases, is the “do nothing” This assumes that natural processes should rapidly clean up such shores and that remedial actions should have great detrimental effects in regard of ecological recovery. Few studies however deal with quantitative rates of natural cleanup on rocky shores. Therefore, CEDRE (Centre de Documentation de Recherche et d'Experimentations sur les Pollutions Accidentelles des Eaux) has conducted field experiments to determine the rate of such processes. Granite plates have been polluted with Arabian Light crude oil and Bunker C and set on exposed and sheltered sites. On an exposed site, the influence of tidal elevation has also been studied. The plates were situated in diverse biological communities; the recolonization of polluted and non polluted plates has been recorded during a 13-month survey. The results show that the Arabian Light crude oil was rapidly washed away by the tide despite low wave energy even on the most exposed site. The persistence of Bunker C was much longer and seemed to be mainly a function of fauna and flora settlement. At the beginning of the survey, all the plates at the exposed site were colonized by barnacles in equal densities whatever the nature of the oil. A second recruitment wave of barnacle colonized preferably the “crude oil plates” which in fact were clean at that time. Along the tidal gradient, non polluted lower plates were colonized by Porphyra and Fucus while the polluted ones were essentially colonized by green algae.

scholarly journals Rethinking the Disappearance of Microblade Technology in the Terminal Pleistocene of Hokkaido, Northern Japan: Looking at Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Evidence

Quaternary ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Jun Takakura
Keyword(s):  
High Mobility ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Current State ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial ◽  
Northern Japan

Archaeological research, for several decades, has shown that various microblade technologies using obsidian and hard shale appeared and developed from the Last Glacial Maximum to the terminal Pleistocene (Bølling–Allerød–Younger Dryas) in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. It is well accepted that microblade technology was closely related to the high mobility of foragers to adapt to harsh environments. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from Hokkaido demonstrates that the disappearance of microblade technology occurred during the terminal Pleistocene, influenced by a wide range of factors, including changes in landscape, climate, subsistence and human populations. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of research on the process and background of the disappearance of microblade technology and to discuss prospects for future research. This paper will (1) review palaeoenvironmental research in Hokkaido on changes in climate and biological composition from the terminal Pleistocene to the initial Holocene; (2) survey changes in the technological adaptations and resource use of humans based on the archaeological evidence; and (3) discuss how the abrupt fluctuations of climate that occurred in the terminal Pleistocene affected human behaviour and demographics in Hokkaido.

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