scholarly journals Impact of beel encroachment on aquatic biodiversity and vulnerability of poor fishermen in Noagaon District, Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-254
Author(s):  
MA Salam ◽  
KM Shakil Rana ◽  
Md Touhidur Rahman

Natural water bodies in Bangladesh are under threat of encroachment due to high population pressure, overexploitation, change of watercourses, and siltation. Therefore, the present study carried out to assess the degree of encroachment of floodplains and its impact on fish biodiversity and the livelihoods of the neighboring fishing communities. The study covered three beels of Naogaon district through remote sensing image interpretation and PRA techniques. The study used three dates remote sensing images and field data which supplemented with the secondary data from diverse origins. Data collected through the recalling method, personal interview with a structured questionnaire and livelihood analysis of fishermen and non-fishermen group living around the beels. The data interpretation showed the water area reduced by 80% from 1981 to 2016 in dry season that converted to boro rice cultivation gradually over time. The type of fishing gears and their use also changed radically over time in all the three beels. The fish catch increased steadily from 1981 and reached its peak in 1996, and then started to fall and continued up to 2016 in all the three beels. The study identified thirty species of SIS and SRS in 1981 that were gradually reduced to 6, 8 and 9 in Digholi, Fatepur and Pakuria beels respectively in 2016. Fish biodiversity reduced as fish-friendly large mesh cotton net replaced by the smaller mesh jagotber jal and monofilament synthetic current jal. Moreover, the annual income of the fishermen family was lower than non- fishermen family in beels areas. The current study clearly identified significant encroachment of floodplains area by agricultural activities between 1981 and 2016 and aquatic biodiversity reduced dramatically and the livelihoods of poor fishermen became vulnerable. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2020, 6(2): 244-254

2012 ◽  
pp. 95-98
Author(s):  
Gyula Vasvári ◽  
Róbert Vig ◽  
Attila Dobos

The methodology for delineating water bodies on multispectral remote sensing imagery was examined and evaluated. A supervised approach is tested with the aim to accurately detect inland water, moisturised soil surface and swampy patches on the Landsat TM 7 scene. The goal of this research is to investigate whether the application of remote sensing image interpretation could further refine the possibilities of future soil conductivity measurement research. The methodologies used were the application of supervised classification algorithms based on the training data collected in the area. The achieved overall classification accuracy value of 83.0795% suggests that the methodology could be used as a successful strategy to incorporate remote sensing data interpretation into soil conductivity measurement planning and application. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that processing of multispectral data with further refinement of the presented methodologies can led to very useful outcomes for environmental measurements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanne Proops ◽  
Camille A. Troisi ◽  
Tanja K. Kleinhappel ◽  
Teresa Romero

AbstractEcological factors, such as predation, have traditionally been used to explain sociability. However, it is increasingly recognised that individuals within a group do not associate randomly, and that these non-random associations can generate fitness advantages. The majority of the empirical evidence on differentiated associations in group-living mammals, however, comes from a limited number of taxa and we still know very little about their occurrence and characteristics in some highly social species, such as rats (Rattus spp.). Here, using network analysis, we quantified association patterns in four groups of male fancy rats. We found that the associations between rats were not randomly distributed and that most individuals had significantly more preferred/avoided associates than expected by random. We also found that these preferences can be stable over time, and that they were not influenced by individuals’ rank position in the dominance hierarchy. Our findings are consistent with work in other mammals, but contrast with the limited evidence available for other rat strains. While further studies in groups with different demographic composition are warranted to confirm our findings, the occurrence of differentiated associations in all male groups of rats have important implications for the management and welfare of captive rat populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1243
Author(s):  
Wenxin Yin ◽  
Wenhui Diao ◽  
Peijin Wang ◽  
Xin Gao ◽  
Ya Li ◽  
...  

The detection of Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) is a meaningful task for remote sensing image interpretation. It is a challenging task, because as facility objects TPPs are composed of various distinctive and irregular components. In this paper, we propose a novel end-to-end detection framework for TPPs based on deep convolutional neural networks. Specifically, based on the RetinaNet one-stage detector, a context attention multi-scale feature extraction network is proposed to fuse global spatial attention to strengthen the ability in representing irregular objects. In addition, we design a part-based attention module to adapt to TPPs containing distinctive components. Experiments show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods and can achieve 68.15% mean average precision.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Catarina Ianni Segatto ◽  
Mário Aquino Alves ◽  
Andrea Pineda

This article is a case study of Brazil, a country where Catholic-based organizations have historically played a key role in providing education and welfare services. Since the 1980s, these organizations have supported progressive changes at both the national and subnational levels. Nevertheless, the influence of religion on education policy has shifted in the last few decades. Pentecostal and Neopentecostal groups have gained prominence through representatives in the National Congress, and, in 2018, formed a coalition enabling the election of a right-wing populist President. We analyse the trajectory of religious groups’ influence on Brazil’s education policy over time (colonization to the 1980s, the 1980s to the beginning of the 2000s, and the 2000s until now) through a qualitative-historical analysis of primary and secondary data. This article argues that both Catholic and Protestant groups have influenced progressive changes in Brazil’s education policy, but they also share conservative ideas impeding further advances.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Jiancheng Lu ◽  
Xiaolong Luo ◽  
Ningning Yang ◽  
Yang Shen

Greenspace exposure (GSE) may have a positive impact on mental health. However, existing research lacks a classification analysis of the influence pathways of different GSE on mental health. Meanwhile, the research method is limited to the measurement of the green space ratio (GSR) based on remote sensing data, which ignores people’s real perception of greenspace. This paper aims to further expand the measurement method of GSE, taking Hangzhou, China as an example, and to reveal the influence mechanism of different GSE modes on mental health. We obtained the personal information, mental health, physical activity, and other data of the interviewees through a questionnaire (n = 461). Combined with a remote sensing satellite and the Baidu Street view database, the method of image interpretation and deep learning was used to obtain the GSR, green visual ratio (GVR), and green visual exposure (GVE). The structural equation model is used to analyze the relationship between different variables. The results showed that: (1) GSE has a certain positive effect on mental health; (2) there are differences in the influence mechanism of multiple measures of GSE on mental health—the GVR and GVE measures based on the interaction perspective between human and greenspace make the influence mechanism more complicated, and produce direct and indirect influence paths; and (3) greenspace perception, sense of community, and physical activity can act as mediators, and have indirect effects. Finally, we call for expanding the measurement index and methods of GSE and integrating them into the management and control practices of urban planning to promote the healthy development of communities and even cities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Rahul Harshwardhan ◽  
V K Tripathy

The objective of this paper is to examine the relation between the pace of urbanisation and growth of slum population in Jharkhand. This paper also attempts to analyse the trends and patterns of growth of slum population at the district level in Jharkhand. In terms of urbanisation process of India, slums have become an integral part of urban scenario. In India, rapid growth of slums is the result of rural-urban migration of the rural poor to the cities/towns in search of employment in the last two decades. In the absence of any affordable housing, there has been growth of slums in the urban areas of the country. In India, out of a total population of 1.21 billion, 31.30% population resides in the urban areas, but 21.68% (61.8 million) of the total urban population live in the slums. Slums are considered as a major problem within the urban areas, particularly in relation to the issues of transportation, population growth, health and safety. The developing states or regions of India are more prone to this problem due to the lack of infrastructural development and heavy urban population pressure. Like other states of India, Jharkhand too is facing the problem of slums. After its separation from Bihar in 2000, the rate of urbanisation and the rate of growth of slums had gone high. The study reveals that in 2001, there were only 11 urban centers consisting of slum population but in 2011, it reached to 31. The slum population registers 23.68% growth while the urban population growth stands at 32%. This paper is primarily based on secondary data collected from different governmental agencies, particularly the Census data of population to analyse the spatial distribution of slum population in the districts of Jharkhand. This study explores the changing urbanisation scenario in Jharkhand and the growth of slums with respect to it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 878 (1) ◽  
pp. 012056
Author(s):  
M Situmorang ◽  
S Setiyadi ◽  
L E Hutabarat

Abstract Rainfall is a determining factor in analyzing planned floods. This research was conducted by collecting secondary data and the field data concerning the soil’s ability to infiltrate the volume of rainfall. Data processing is carried out by statistical analysis to estimate the average rainfall, intensity value, estimated discharge plan, volume of runoff and estimated infiltration rate. These parameters are important related to the infiltration well dimensions planning and the conserving water area. From the research results, it is shown that infiltration rate and optimal dimensions of infiltration wells very dependent on rainfall discharge and runoff volume in each region. Artificial infiltration is an alternative solution for maintaining groundwater balance and overcoming water problems. With groundwater infiltration, groundwater infiltration can maintain a relatively stable groundwater depth. Infiltration rate in RT 06 Cawang are 54,03 cm/hour lower than in Kelurahan 11 Cawang East Jakarta are 54,12 cm/hour, with perimeter area of wells DSP = 1,5 m2, Depth of well (HSP) = -1,89 m2 and coverage area of well (ASP) = 1,77 m2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Stephenson

Evidence-based decision-making in conservation and natural resource management is often constrained by lack of robust biodiversity data. Technology offers opportunities for enhanced data collection, with satellite-based remote sensing increasingly complemented by Earth-based sensors such as camera traps, acoustic recording devices and drones. In aquatic as well as terrestrial systems, environmental DNA is increasingly promoted as a tool to monitor species diversity and community composition. But if conservationists and natural resource managers are to know when to use eDNA, they need to understand its relative advantages and disadvantages, and when it can be used with or instead of other tools. In this paper, I expand on two recent publications (Stephenson 2020; Stephenson et al. 2020) to review lessons learned from the application of eDNA, especially metabarcoding, to the monitoring of aquatic biodiversity for conservation and to identify factors affecting its relevance and applicability. Over the past decade there have been many advances in technological solutions for biodiversity monitoring. eDNA and various remote sensing tools offer opportunities to create the enabling conditions for enhanced biodiversity monitoring, and are becoming cheaper and easier to use for scientists, public and private sector resource managers, and citizen scientists. Nonetheless, a number of challenges need to be addressed to, for example, improve the standardisation of tool use and to enhance capacity for the use, storage, sharing and analysis of huge volumes of data, especially in high-biodiversity countries. More studies comparing the relative efficiency and cost-effectiveness of different tools with different species in different habitats would help managers choose the right tools for their needs and capacity and better integrate them into monitoring schemes. eDNA is becoming the go-to option for the monitoring of aquatic species diversity and community composition and has also proven successful in some terrestrial settings. eDNA is especially useful for monitoring species that are in low densities or difficult to observe with traditional observer-based methods; indeed, several studies show eDNA metabarcoding techniques have a much better detection probability overall for taxa such as amphibians and fish. In some cases, eDNA has been shown to complement other tools when used together, by either increasing animal detection probabilities or increasing the number of indicators that can be measured at one site. This suggests that, in future, more effort should be made to test the effectiveness of integrating eDNA with one or more other tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of measuring indicators and to increase the diversity of species detected. For example, eDNA could be combined with camera traps for monitoring vertebrates visiting waterholes. Testing multiple tools would also provide better opportunity to quantify when and how traditional observer-based methods can complement the technological solutions and when they are more cost-effective. However, it is noteworthy that, in general, the taxa for which data are most lacking, such as invertebrates, plants and fungi, are still those less easily monitored by eDNA and other new technologies. This suggests a focus only on technological solutions for biodiversity monitoring may perpetuate existing taxonomic data biases. I conclude by discussing the international policy context and the relevance of eDNA for monitoring global biodiversity indicators. Several opportunities exist to integrate eDNA into monitoring programmes to measure government, business and civil society contributions towards delivery of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the Sustainable Development Goals.


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