scholarly journals Application of GIS on the Identification of Suitable Areas for Water Conservation Technologies in the Upper Tana Watershed of the Central Highlands of Kenya

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
B. W. Nganga ◽  
K. O. Nge’tich ◽  
N. Adamtey ◽  
K. Milka ◽  
K. F. Ngetich
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Influencing Factor ◽  
Stream Order ◽  
Weighted Overlay ◽  
Suitability Evaluation ◽  
Model Builder ◽  
Suitability Maps ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Online Sources ◽  
Conservation Technologies

Low adoption of soil water conservation technologies has been one of the main causes for decreased agricultural productivity in the Upper Tana Catchment of Kenya. Proper identification of locations to scale-out the individual technologies necessary to improve water conservation is a key determinant for the rate of adoption. Our main aim was to identify the suitable sites for water conservation technologies using the suitability model created by the model builder function in ArcGIS 10.5®. The model combined the thematic layers of soil texture, slope, rainfall, and stream order, which were acquired from assorted online sources. The factors were converted to raster format and reclassified based on their suitability and were assigned fixed scores and weights by use of multi influencing factor (MIF) method. The suitability evaluation was carried out by use of weighted overlay to produce suitability classes for each of the water conservation technique. The delineated suitability maps indicated that check dams are highly suitable in 50% of the study area. Mulching, on the other hand, is highly suitable for 49% of the study area. Zai pits are highly suitable in 43% of the study area. Majority of the study area is moderately suitable for the use of terraces, covering 41% of the study area. The highly suitable areas for the Checkdams are Machakos, Kitui, Tharaka-Nithi and lower parts of Embu. The highly suitable areas for mulching are Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Nyandarua and Nyeri. The highly suitable areas for the Zai pits are Kitui, lower parts of Tharaka-Nithi and the highly suitable areas for the terraces are Murang’a, Nyeri and Kirinyaga. Furthermore, the results demonstrated the effectiveness of GIS in delineating the suitable areas for the use of water conservation technologies.

Impact of Land Conservation Technologies on Agricultural Productivity in Tanzania

Utafiti ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 33-66
Author(s):  
Onesmo Selijio
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Maize Crop ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Inorganic Fertilizers ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Management And Conservation ◽  
Conservation Technologies

Land management and conservation have been considered the most important aspects of sustainable productivity in economically developing countries where land degradation is a major challenge. In Tanzania, both the government and international organizations have been promoting adoption of land management and conservation technologies (LMCTs) for a long time. This paper establishes the impact of three LMCTs – soil water conservation technologies and erosion control (SWCEC), organic and inorganic fertilizers – on maize crop yields in different rainfall zones, using national panel survey data. The study employs static panel models to analyse the two-period data sets for 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. The results indicate that adoption of LMCTs do contribute significantly to maize yield. The greatest effects of organic and SWCEC methods on crop yield were realized in low rainfall zones, while that of inorganic fertilizers was observed in high rainfall zones. These findings support previous cross-sectional data analyses, suggesting for policy makers that a blanket land management and conservation programme applied uniformly to all agro-ecological zones is not strategically beneficial. The advisability of a technology employed in a given zone should be supported by local knowledge and research findings culled from that particular area.

scholarly journals Water Preservation and Conservation above Coal Mines Using an Innovative Approach: A Case Study

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2818
Author(s):  
Yujun Xu ◽  
Liqiang Ma ◽  
Yihe Yu
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Influencing Factor ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Narrow Strip ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
The Impact

To better protect the ecological environment during large scale underground coal mining operations in the northwest of China, the authors have proposed a water-conservation coal mining (WCCM) method. This case study demonstrated the successful application of WCCM in the Yu-Shen mining area. Firstly, by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the influencing factors of WCCM were identified and the identification model with a multilevel structure was developed, to determine the weight of each influencing factor. Based on this, the five maps: overburden thickness contour, stratigraphic structure map, water-rich zoning map of aquifers, aquiclude thickness contour and coal seam thickness contour, were analyzed and determined. This formed the basis for studying WCCM in the mining area. Using the geological conditions of the Yu-Shen mining area, the features of caved zone, water conductive fractured zone (WCFZ) and protective zone were studied. The equations for calculating the height of the “three zones” were proposed. Considering the hydrogeological condition of Yu-Shen mining area, the criteria were put forward to evaluate the impact of coal mining on groundwater, which were then used to determine the distribution of different impact levels. Using strata control theory, the mechanism and applicability of WCCM methods, including height-restricted mining, (partial) backfill mining and narrow strip mining, together with the applicable zone of these methods, were analyzed and identified. Under the guidance of “two zoning” (zoning based on coal mining’s impact level on groundwater and zoning based on applicability of WCCM methods), the WCCM practice was carried out in Yu-Shen mining area. The research findings will provide theoretical and practical instruction for the WCCM in the northwest mining area of China, which is important to reduce the impact of mining on surface and groundwater.

Water Conservation in Schools

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga María Bermúdez ◽  
Marcela Lombana
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Critical Problem ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Individual

Water is indispensable to life because all the functions of living beings rely on its presence: breathing, nutrition, circulation, and reproduction. Water forms part of all living bodies, both animal and vegetable. It is a natural resource necessary for human life. This natural resource has been threatened by climate change and its scarcity has been reported in many locations worldwide. According to the FAO, in 2014 almost 50 countries were faced with water shortages: Africa is the continent with the highest percentage of water stress (41%), while Asia has the highest percentage of countries with total water shortage (25%). Confronted with this critical problem, it is necessary that people of all ages, races, and cultures become aware of the value that water represents and take action in both the individual and collective spheres. To ensure that the next generation understands water’s properties and functions, and learns to value and take care of it, this action should start in schools, which play a fundamental role in the education of children and young people.

scholarly journals S36. TREATING NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA WITH A MOTIVE-SPECIFIC INTERVENTION: A RANDOMIZED BRIEF INTERVENTION TRIAL

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S45-S46
Author(s):  
Rahel Horisberger ◽  
Stefan Kaiser ◽  
Matthias Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Influencing Factor ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Social Motives ◽  
Group Relationships ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Background Motivational deficits seem to be one of the main barriers in the recovery process among psychosis patients and have been shown to be very treatment resistant. Motives are conscious and unconscious affect-based needs that influence behavior toward specific incentives. Thus, they constitute the basis of motivated behavior or the lack thereof. In this study, we investigated how individual differences in social motives relate to the phenomenology of motivational negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Methods Fifty-nine patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were included into the sample. Negative symptoms were measured with the Brief Negative Symptom Scale and social motives with the Questionnaire for the Zurich Model of Social Motivation. Between-group differences, Pearson correlations and regression analysis were calculated. We replicated and extended the results in a second sample of forty-five psychosis patients, using the same methods. Results A comparison of healthy controls and schizophrenia patients revealed significant differences in social motives. Within the patient group, relationships between the characteristics of the individual motives, in particular the achievement motive, and the severity of the motivational negative symptoms, i.e. of asociality, avolition and anhedonia, could be described. In contrast, social motives cannot be associated with diminished expression, the non-motivational dimension of negative symptoms. The duration of the disease seems to be an additional influencing factor: When comparing the motivational dispositions of first episode patients with those of healthy people, no differences were found. However, a relationship between the duration of the disease and the characteristics of social motives can be described. Discussion Explicit social motives stand in a relationship with motivational negative symptoms. Since implicit and explicit motives may diverge, the aim of our future research is to additionally investigate the association with implicit motives. The inclusion of psychological factors helps to extend and improve psychotherapeutic interventions for psychosis patients. Since negative symptoms do not respond well to pharmacotherapy, further efforts in this direction are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of this disease and to develop effective psychotherapy tools in the future.

scholarly journals Identification of Potential Sites for a Multi-Purpose Dam Using a Dam Suitability Stream Model

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3249
Author(s):  
Zhenfeng Shao ◽  
Zahid Jahangir ◽  
Qazi Muhammad Yasir ◽  
Atta-ur-Rahman ◽  
Shakeel Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Input Parameter ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Stream Order ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Suitability Maps ◽  
Gis Environment ◽  
Risk Managers ◽  
Hierarchy Process ◽  
Stream Model

Optimal site selection of a dam is one of the crucial tasks in water resource management. In this study, a dam suitability stream model (DSSM) is utilized to identify potential sites for constructing multi-purpose dams. In DSSM, each input parameter is weighted using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and then weighted overlay analysis is performed in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. Compared to the previous studies, this study showed different results based on the crucial parameter that is “stream order”. Two resultant site suitability maps are prepared to differentiate the importance of stream order. Each of the resulting maps visualizes four classes of suitability from highly suitable to least suitable. The proposed sites will store water for a variety of uses at the local and regional level and reduce flood risk, which can be very useful for hydrologists and disaster risk managers.

Encouraging Water Saving: the Role of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intention

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot Murphy ◽  
Raymond Watson ◽  
Susan Moore
Keyword(s):  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
General Level ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Information Processing Model ◽  
The Individual

Few would doubt the need, in today's world, to promote behaviours that actively conserve environmental resources. At a general level, this often involves encouraging behaviours that involve a short-term cost for the individual in order to avoid a long-term negative outcome for the community. Examples of such behaviour are, taking the trouble to turn off lights to save electricity and fixing leaking taps to conserve water. It is these latter kinds of behaviours, namely those associated with the efficient use of water resources, which are the focus of this paper.Faced with the high economic and practical costs of attempting to supply unlimited amounts of water for the Melbourne metropolitan area, the Board of Works has sought, by a number of means, to persuade its consumers to use water more efficiently. One aspect of its strategy was to promote water conservation within the educational curriculum by designing various educational materials and programs for different school levels. These and other promotional materials were made available to schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area in 1988. Prior to the distribution of this material, the data reported in this paper were gathered as the first stage of a longitudinal evaluation of the Board's education strategy.The assumption underlying the Board of Works' educational program was that behaviour change is preceded by changes in knowledge. For example, it was assumed that a person, knowing something about the water cycle, and the system by which water is fed into our taps, would believe that it is important not to waste water. The result would be active water conservation in daily life. Some basis for this assumption has been provided by the report on domestic water use in Perth, Western Australia (Metropolitan Water Authority, 1985), where knowledge and attitudes were found to be predictors of actual water consumption. Such an assumption is based in a general way on a cognitive or information processing model of behaviour change, in which changes in behaviour are seen as proceeding from changes in relevant information or knowledge. This cognitive model is the basis for many social education programs both in schools and in the community. For example, the Quit Campaign and the AIDS campaign have both used strategies that aimed to inform the public about particular health-related behaviours.

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