scholarly journals Desertification in the Upper West Region of Ghana: Causes, Processes and Impact

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-93
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Amankwah

This paper is written to find out the causes, processes and impact of desertification in the Upper West Region and to suggest ways to address the problem. The research was conducted through interviews, field survey, using questionnaires and focus group discussions. It was realized during the research that the people in the region are aware of the environmental degradation but have varied views on the causes and their consequences. They realized the reduction in crop yield in recent years, the changing weather pattern, the drying up of streams and river bodies and many others, which are as a result of the human activities that negatively affect the environment. The research also discovered that felling down of trees for charcoal production, wood fuel and bush burning top the list of environmental degradation in the region. It was concluded by proposing measures such as afforestation, proper land management, introduction of fine or punishment for bush burning and enforcement of forest regulations in curbing the rate of environmental degradation that leads to desertification in the region. Keywords: Desertification; Environmental degradation; Tree felling; Bush burning and charcoal.

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley K. Dary ◽  
Harvey S. James ◽  
Asaah S. Mohammed

In Ghana, farmer-herder conflicts have become widespread and increasingly assume a violent dimension. Competition over access to and use of land and water resources is at the center of the conflicts. However, competition does not automatically result in conflicts. The conflicts are driven by triggering activities of both farmers and herders. This study identifies triggers of farmer-herder conflicts in the Upper West Region of Ghana and tests the level of agreement among key stakeholder groups on the triggers of these conflicts. This is an important step in determining approaches to farmer-herder conflicts prevention and resolution. The data were collected via focus group discussions of five key stakeholder groups: chiefs-traditional rulers, Fulani herdsmen-cattle owners, crop farmers, civic society-media, and government agencies. Fourteen triggers of conflicts were identified by stakeholders, with destruction of crops by cattle ranking as the most important trigger. In testing agreement among stakeholder groups on triggers of conflicts, only crop farmers, chiefs-traditional rulers and government agencies significantly agree on the triggers of conflicts. There is also moderate level of concordance when the ranking of triggers of conflicts by all five stakeholder groups are simultaneously considered. The results show farmer-herder conflicts are complex and preventing and /or resolving these conflicts require integrated approaches.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Dinesh Ghimire ◽  
Jagannath Shrestha ◽  
Anup K.C

This study presents the potentiality of biogas plants and their role for the conservation of environment. It is basedon primary data collected from 84 household surveys, 6 key informant interviews and two focus group discussions. It was observed that more than 95% of the people residing in the VDCs were using firewood as a main source ofenergy. The total amount of firewood consumed was 510.570 ton/year which emits 775.052tCO2e/year. Due to the presence of agriculture based livestock holding population, there is a great potential of biogas technology. Thestudy showed that biogas technology could saved 34.40% of firewood which conserves 5.415 ha of forests area. There is a potentiality of 58 biogas plants of size 6 cu.m which will reduce 440.800 tCO2e/year.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/njst.v15i2.12114Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 15, No.2 (2014) 51-56


Author(s):  
Abudulai Mohammed- Kamilu ◽  
Augustine Adjei ◽  
Francis Kyei Badu

The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, causes and effects of domestic violence in the East Mamprusi Traditional area of the Northern Region of Ghana. Five research questions were used to draw answers from respondents. A descriptive survey was used for the study. Men and women (192) respondents were included in the study. Systematic, purposive, lottery and snowball sampling were used to select the sample size of 25 respondents. Interview guide was used for focus group discussions for men and women. Focus group discussions were transcribed. The study revealed that, people in East Mamprusi Traditional area experience various kinds of domestic violence. From the findings it was concluded that some of the cultural practice in the area allow violent means to correct wrong doing. And the conclusions were that correction could be effective without the use of violence. It was recommended among others that, Government should expand counseling facilities in schools to meet the demands of the people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Dien Nur Chotimah ◽  
Sutaman Sutaman

<p class="ABSTRACTJUDUL"><em>This dedication’s to society activity that have been conducted in Pait Village, Kasembon District, Malang take the theme building and strengthening multicultural relations. The method used in dedication to society is the Participation Action Research (PAR) method, taking into account the conditions of assistance in the beginning and the conditions of assistance that are expected. Assistance was carried out in a number of Focus Group Discussions (FGD), socialization and some workshops. Strengthening multicultural relations in the people of Pait Village is very necessary given the diversity of different community backgrounds, especially from the religious aspect. This dedication program has resulted in the formation of a Multicultural Literacy Concern (PLM) community. In addition, the authorship assistance program was also carried out for the community members. Even expanding its influence by spreading their ideas through the website ikipait.com. This assistance resulted in a pretty good web design, displaying the writings of PLM community members.</em></p><p class="ABSTRACTJUDUL"><em> </em></p><p class="ABSTRACT"><em>Kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat yang telah dilakukan di Desa Pait, Kecamatan Kasembon, Kabupaten Malang ini mengambil tema membangun dan menguatkan relasi multikultural. Metode yang digunakan dalam pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini adalah metode Participation Action Research (PAR), dengan memperhatikan kondisi dampingan di awal serta kondisi dampingan yang diharapkan. Pendampingan dilakukan dalam beberapa Focus Group Discussion (FGD) dan juga dalam bentuk sosialisasi serta pelaksanaan beberapa workshop. Penguatan relasi multikultural pada warga masyarakat Desa Pait sangat diperlukan mengingat keberagaman latar belakang masyarakat yang berbeda, terutama dari aspek agama. Program pengabdian ini menghasilkan terbentuknya komunitas Peduli Literasi Multikultural (PLM) yang berfungsi untuk menguatkan relasi multikultural. Selain itu, juga terlaksana program pendampingan kepenulisan kepada warga masyarakat. Bahkan meluaskan pengaruhnya dengan menyebarkan ide dan gagasan mereka melalui website ikipait.com. Pendampingan ini menghasilkan desain web yang cukup baik, dengan menampilkan tulisan-tulisan karya anggota komunitas PLM.</em></p>


KALAM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-352
Author(s):  
Rahmawati Rahmawati ◽  
Muh. Rusli ◽  
Kasim Yahiji

This paper aims to express the values of local wisdom that belong to the people of Gorontalo, Indonesia. The values of local wisdom need to be explored to anticipate the symptoms of religious radicalism that began to emerge in the life of the people of Gorontalo city. Using phenomenology method, this study analyzes the data obtained through interviews, observation, documentation, and focus group discussions. The results of the study show that Gorontalo people have many local wisdom values, such as huyula; dulohupa;Modungohe ta Uda’a; Mopiyohu to bisala wawu huhutu; dan Tombulu. In the local wisdom found the value of mutual cooperation, deliberation, adherence to custom , tolerance, love for the motherland, moral education, self-purification, deepening of Islamic teachings, benevolence, and virtue. This study concludes that Gorontalo people have internal strength as social capital to anticipate the symptoms of religious radicalism.


Author(s):  
Tombari Bodo

This study was designed to mirror the deep issues behind the crisis in the Niger Delta region, using the oil exploration of Ogoniland as the case study and proffering possible solutions on how best to combat the identified problems. To achieve this aim, focus group discussions, unstructured interviews and oral testimonies were employed for the collection of data; and data analysis were carried out using simple coding for recognition, transcription from the local dialect to English Language, rewriting and interpretations. The results revealed that the people’s expectation from the Government and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has not been met; illegal refineries and other criminal vices are now fully in operation in Ogoniland. The people blamed the Shell Petroleum Development Company, the Federal Government, some of their corrupt chiefs, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and some of the community youths for the problems in the communities. However, the Ogoni people believed that the full implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programmes (UNEP) report on Ogoniland and the Ogoni Bill of Rights will ameliorate all their sufferings. It was recommended that SPDC should avoid reaching agreements with the traditional rulers and politicians from Ogoni on projects bordering on development of the land that excludes the people. It was also recommended that SPDC should carry out town hall meetings, focus group discussions or even distribute questionnaires in the local communities in Ogoni communities to ascertain the best solutions from the local people (who are the majority) rather than taking only the decisions from Ogoni leaders, which may not be the consensus opinion of the people.


Al-Ulum ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Muhiddin Bakry

This study aims to make a comprehensive study on the phenomenon of behavior and perception of Gorontalo society to Mome�ati tradition (pledge) as the tradition of Gorontalo society in general, and especially the people of Gorontalo city, which is still maintained, and study of the aspects of religiosity of Mome�ati custom in society of Gorontalo city. This research is a field research and the data was collected using observation, interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and documentation. The results of this study reveals that there are some steps in mome�ati tradition which doing it. These steps conveys a meaning of religiosity that is in line with the Islamic law. This is one of the local tradition of Gorontalo which has been already assimilated in Islamic values. The implication of this this study can expand and enrich information about local Islamic tradition in Indonesia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9987
Author(s):  
Sereyrotha Ken ◽  
Nophea Sasaki ◽  
Tomoe Entani ◽  
Hwan Ok Ma ◽  
Phalla Thuch ◽  
...  

Understanding the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and the agents of such drivers is important for introducing appropriate policy interventions. Here, we identified drivers and agents of drivers through the analysis of local perceptions using questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions, and field observations. The Likert scale technique was employed for designing the questionnaire with scores ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). We found nine direct drivers of forest deforestation and forest degradation, namely illegal logging (4.53 ± 0.60, ± is for standard deviation), commercial wood production (4.20 ± 0.71), land clearing for commercial agriculture (4.19 ± 1.15), charcoal production (3.60 ± 1.12), land clearing for subsistence agriculture (3.54 ± 0.75), new settlement and land migration (3.43 ± 0.81), natural disasters (3.31 ± 0.96), human-induced forest fires (3.25 ± 0.96), and fuelwood for domestic consumption (3.21 ± 0.77). We also found four main indirect drivers, namely lack of law enforcement, demand for timber, land tenure right, and population growth. Our analysis indicates that wood furniture makers, medium and large-scale agricultural investors, charcoal makers, land migrants, firewood collectors, and subsistent farmers were the agents of these drivers. Through focus group discussions, 12 activities were agreed upon and could be introduced to reduce these drivers. In addition to enforcing the laws, creating income-generating opportunities for locals along with the provision of environmental education could ensure long-term reduction of these drivers. The REDD+ project could be an option for creating local income opportunities, while reducing deforestation and forest degradation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Addiarrahman Addiarrahman ◽  
Illy Yanti

This study seeks to understand the pragmatism of the development of sharia economic law, and its implications for Islamic financial products in Indonesia. The data comes from the results of interviews and focus group discussions with key informants from academics, practitioners, authorities, and the public. This research finds that pragmatism in the development of Islamic economic law is an approach that still dominates the DSN-MUI fatwas. The pragmatism style used is complex-eclectic pragmatism which is represented through makhārij al-fiqhiyyah, which is to choose a mild opinion by sticking to the strongest method or also called "taysīr al-manhajī". The use of this method is intended to ensure that the fatwa is truly able to answer the needs of the business world, as well as being in line with sharia principles. DSN-MUI also does not use maslahah as a legal consideration in a free or liberal way. Rather, it returns maslahah in consideration of the method, so that it is permissible to use the bay’ al-'inān contract only in a forced state (ḍarurah).


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e029144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusra Elhidaia Elobaid ◽  
Andrea Leinberger Jabari ◽  
Aisha Al Hamiz ◽  
Abdul Rizzak Al Kaddour ◽  
Sherif Bakir ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo explore: (A) the underlying motivators and barriers to smoking cessation among young Arabic speaking smokers and (B) to examine the suitability and preferences for tobacco cessation interventions (specifically text messages) and study the possibility of enrollment methods for a randomised controlled study using text messages as an intervention for tobacco cessation.DesignQualitative research using focus group discussions and content analysis.Setting(s)Two universities, one of them is the first and foremost comprehensive national university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The third setting is the largest hospital in the UAE and the flagship institution for the public health system in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.ParticipantsSix focus group discussions with a total of 57 participants. Forty-seven men and 10 women. Fifty-three of them were current smokers.ResultsThe analysis of six focus groups was carried out. Main themes arose from the data included: preferences for tobacco cessation interventions and acceptability and feasibility of text messaging as tobacco cessation intervention. Different motives and barriers for quitting smoking including shisha and dokha were explored.ConclusionInterventions using text messaging for smoking cessation have not been used in the Middle East and they could potentially be effective; however, tailoring and closely examining the content and acceptability of text messages to be used is important before the conduction of trials involving their use. Social media is perceived to be more effective and influential, with a higher level of penetration into communities of young smokers.


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