Equitable Access to Water at Alfred Duma Local Municipality

Water plays a central role in the life of society. However, factors such as population growth, pollution, and poor allocation and distribution mechanisms place severe pressures on adequate and equitable water supply. The aim of this chapter was to look into equitable water access in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality as well as the ecological governance framework that supports water access in local areas. The chapter also looked at the position of local municipality in water access and the impact of ecological scale on water provision. Many people are still unable to exercise their constitutional right to water in Alfred Duma Local Municipality, where most women feel disempowered, marginalized, and excluded from the process of making water access decisions. This brings challenges to disadvantaged and arginalized groups socially, economically, and environmentally where vulnerable and marginalised groups have no opportunity to equitably benefit from water access.

Crawling to connectivity? The direct-developing journey of the spotted whelk (Cominella maculosa)

<p>The exchange of individuals between populations influences demographic connectivity on the ecological scale and genetic connectivity on the evolutionary scale. In some circumstances there are similarities between demographic and genetic connectivity, but in others there are differences. Whenever genetic differentiation is found between populations demographic uncoupling can also be inferred, but when gene flow is found there is uncertainty about whether populations are demographically connected or not. Marine invertebrates typically have large population sizes and many opportunities for dispersal. However, species that have limited planktonic dispersal power are often characterized by genetically and demographically discrete populations that exhibit an isolation-by-distance (IBD) pattern of gene distribution. Alternative methods of dispersal, such as rafting or drifting, produce departures from this expected pattern for species lacking planktonic larvae. Examining genetic patterns at fine geographic scales can identify key dispersal barriers and may give clues to alternative dispersal methods influencing large scale processes. The endemic, direct-developing spotted whelk, Cominella maculosa, is found in the intertidal rocky shores throughout most of New Zealand. This distribution makes it ideal for studying a species expected to exhibit low realized dispersal by crawling and is unlikely to experience dispersal by rafting. The first aim of this study was to investigate genetic patterns between two genetically distinct populations along the Wairarapa Coast of the North Island to determine if a barrier to dispersal was present or if the expected IBD pattern was observed. The second aim was to determine the likelihood of individual hatchlings undertaking long distance dispersal by drifting in the water column. The mitochondrial DNA COI gene was sequenced using 324 whelk samples collected at seven sites along 125 km of Wairarapa shoreline. No significant level of genetic isolation-by-distance or discontinuity in haplotype distribution was observed. Instead, two sites in the middle of the region form a contact area where the dominant northern and southern haplotypes coexist. To investigate dispersal by drifting in the water, three experimental trials were conducted with hatchlings obtained from field-collected egg capsules. When subjected to wave forces, or deposited directly in flow, hatchlings remained suspended and were carried a short distance. However, hatchlings circulated in currents and left for a longer period (12 hours) were rarely found drifting after this period. These trials indicate that wave dislodgement and local flow regime may result in small-scale displacement of hatchlings, but long-distance dispersal by drift is unlikely. Plankton sampling was also conducted at two sites with four nearshore traps. The rare capture of a related Cominella virgata hatchling supports the finding that hatchlings can be dislodged, but prolonged drift cannot be inferred. The findings from this study support the assumption that crawling is the dominant dispersal mechanism for C. maculosa. Crawling between sites best explains the blending of haplotypes in the middle of the Wairarapa and the genetic differentiation between populations. Crawling-mediated connectivity is unlikely to occur at the ecological scale; therefore populations are expected to be demographically isolated. The results of this research support the general findings in the literature that populations of direct developing species are often demographically isolated and have low levels of genetic connectivity.</p>

Crawling to connectivity? The direct-developing journey of the spotted whelk (Cominella maculosa)

<p>The exchange of individuals between populations influences demographic connectivity on the ecological scale and genetic connectivity on the evolutionary scale. In some circumstances there are similarities between demographic and genetic connectivity, but in others there are differences. Whenever genetic differentiation is found between populations demographic uncoupling can also be inferred, but when gene flow is found there is uncertainty about whether populations are demographically connected or not. Marine invertebrates typically have large population sizes and many opportunities for dispersal. However, species that have limited planktonic dispersal power are often characterized by genetically and demographically discrete populations that exhibit an isolation-by-distance (IBD) pattern of gene distribution. Alternative methods of dispersal, such as rafting or drifting, produce departures from this expected pattern for species lacking planktonic larvae. Examining genetic patterns at fine geographic scales can identify key dispersal barriers and may give clues to alternative dispersal methods influencing large scale processes. The endemic, direct-developing spotted whelk, Cominella maculosa, is found in the intertidal rocky shores throughout most of New Zealand. This distribution makes it ideal for studying a species expected to exhibit low realized dispersal by crawling and is unlikely to experience dispersal by rafting. The first aim of this study was to investigate genetic patterns between two genetically distinct populations along the Wairarapa Coast of the North Island to determine if a barrier to dispersal was present or if the expected IBD pattern was observed. The second aim was to determine the likelihood of individual hatchlings undertaking long distance dispersal by drifting in the water column. The mitochondrial DNA COI gene was sequenced using 324 whelk samples collected at seven sites along 125 km of Wairarapa shoreline. No significant level of genetic isolation-by-distance or discontinuity in haplotype distribution was observed. Instead, two sites in the middle of the region form a contact area where the dominant northern and southern haplotypes coexist. To investigate dispersal by drifting in the water, three experimental trials were conducted with hatchlings obtained from field-collected egg capsules. When subjected to wave forces, or deposited directly in flow, hatchlings remained suspended and were carried a short distance. However, hatchlings circulated in currents and left for a longer period (12 hours) were rarely found drifting after this period. These trials indicate that wave dislodgement and local flow regime may result in small-scale displacement of hatchlings, but long-distance dispersal by drift is unlikely. Plankton sampling was also conducted at two sites with four nearshore traps. The rare capture of a related Cominella virgata hatchling supports the finding that hatchlings can be dislodged, but prolonged drift cannot be inferred. The findings from this study support the assumption that crawling is the dominant dispersal mechanism for C. maculosa. Crawling between sites best explains the blending of haplotypes in the middle of the Wairarapa and the genetic differentiation between populations. Crawling-mediated connectivity is unlikely to occur at the ecological scale; therefore populations are expected to be demographically isolated. The results of this research support the general findings in the literature that populations of direct developing species are often demographically isolated and have low levels of genetic connectivity.</p>

EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF GOAT FARMS IN THE NORTH-WESTERN REGION OF TUNISIA

Background: Sustainability issues are of particular importance for the goat sector in The North-southern of Tunisia, where many local populations are reared, ensuring livelihoods for vulnerable populations in rural areas, including those in marginal zones. Even though in recent decades there has been great progress in research aimed at increasing goat productivity, there is still great work to be done, namely in the sustainability of this sector Methods: The study aimed to assess the sustainability of goat farming in the North-West of Tunisia. Twenty farms practicing goat farming were involved. Sustainability was assessed using the IDEA method (Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles or Farm Sustainability Indicators). Results: The analysis of the three scales of sustainability (the agro-ecological scale, the socio-territorial scale, and the economic scale) permitted the identification of four classes of farmers in the agro-ecological scale, five classes on the socio-territorial scale, and five classes in the economic scale. The socio-territorial scale that had the lowest value (59.3 points/100) defined global sustainability. At this scale, the components, product territorial quality, ethics, and human development must be improved and optimized. While the highest performances are recorded by the economic scale (70.35), whose transmissibility indicator has the highest score (20 points). It was concluded that the most limiting factor of sustainability for all the farms is the socio-territorial scale, while the highest score of sustainability was found for the economic scale. Improvements should be implemented on all three scales.

The IDEA Method for Assessing Irrigated Cereal Farms Sustainability in Algerian Arid Zones: Case of Ouargla Region (Oued M'ya)

The agricultural sector in the Saharan regions of Algeria has seen, since 1983, the development program of cereal cultivation irrigated by pivots thanks, essentially, to the availability of underground water resources which constitute its keystone. In Ouargla, these farms strongly supported by the public authorities and sustained by neo-farmers have marked progressions and regressions in space and in time, some have disappeared, others have undergone changes thus calling into question their durability. This research aims to assess the sustainability of these farms by the IDEA method (Sustainability Indicators of Farms Agricultural- Indicateurs de Durabilit&eacute; des Exploitations Agricoles) based mainly on three scales; the agro-ecological scale, the socio-territorial scale and the economic scale. The analysis of 13 farms shows that this is an artificial production system, the installation of which is at great risk and depends heavily on the will of agricultural policies and entrepreneur-farmers. The economic scale seems to have the best score, however the profits generated by the farmers can be explained more by the consistent support of the State than by a tangible accounting balance. At the socio-territorial level, most of the components are failing, in particular a very low diversity of products and a strong lack of employment. The agroecological scale constitutes the limiting factor par excellence with an agriculture which consumes a lot of non-renewable water and energy and at the same time destroys the soil resource by the phenomenon of salinization. Thus the three scales are failing and the limiting factor par excellence is the environmental scale, the consideration of which is strongly recommended both nationally and internationally. This research also highlights the need for a revision of certain indicators of the IDEA method with a view to adapting it to the local context of arid zones and to the cereal agrosystem in Ouargla.

COMPREHENSIVE WAY OF CALCULATING ECOLOGICAL (ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE) FACTORS OF PLANT COMMUNITIES ENVIRONMENT FOR AMPLITUDE ECOLOGICAL SCALES

Despite intensive development of instrumental methods of environmental factors analysis for plant communities their assessment with ecological scales still remains important. The main advantage of ecological scales is their ability to reflect generalized and average characteristics of ecological regimes due to significant inertia in response of plant communities composition to the change of certain characteristics of the environment. The main ways of calculation while using ecological scales are the medium-sized method and the ideal indicator method (of linear regression) including modified algorithm of calculating the level of edaphic and climatic factors of the environment with amplitude ecological scales. The aim of this work was to improve further the method for assessing the level of ecological factors (ecological space) in plant communities. For calculations and visualization of the results obtained we used Excel and our own programs written in the Matlab media. The basis of the method is finding the factor averagely weighed for the level calculated by the traditional way and by the method of the ideal indicator. It is proposed to set the weight of factors in both methods of calculation both explicitly and depending on the ecological index reflecting correspondence (adequacy) of the plant community composition to the level of ecological factors prevailing in the habitat. They can also be calculated by linear or non-linear dependencies relative to the middle of amplitude ecological scale. The conclusion is that it is possible to predict the content of secondary metabolites in plants based on assessing the level of ecological factors for plant communities.

Identifying Hotspots in the Distribution of Human Infectious Diseases Using a Bayesian Framework: A Lead to Drivers, Prevention, and Surveillance of Disease Emergence

Background The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need of surveillance system to detect threats and regions at high risk from emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). With the human-driven perturbations to the human-animal-pathogen interface at an ecological scale, the integration of these environmental drivers is essential. We propose robust mathematical models to map, detect, and identify significant drivers of EID outbreaks for three viral EID groups: Filoviridae, Coronaviridae, and Henipaviruses.MethodsWe modeled the presence-absence data in a spatially explicit, binomial and zero-inflation binomial (ZIB) logistic regression with and without autoregression (iCAR). The presence data were extracted from WHO and Promed archives for the three EID groups and we generated pseudoabsence points within the spatial distribution of the mammalian reservoirs. Various environmental and demographical raster were used to explain the distribution of EIDs. True Skill Statistic and deviance parameters were used to compare the accuracy of the different models.ResultsWe used hierarchical SDM binomial, ZIB with and without iCAR models to map the predictive risk of viral EIDs. ZIB models with autoregression were found to be near perfect in detecting the distribution of EID outbreaks with 70% of the models explained by environmental and demographic drivers. The common influencing drivers amongst the three groups of EIDs analyzed were climatic covariates minimum temperature and rainfall, and human-driven land modifications.ConclusionsOur study results conclude that using SDMs in a Bayesian structure is near perfect detecting hotspots and significant drivers of EID outbreaks. It also maps the sites needing active surveillance, which essential in epidemic prevention, and highlights the influence of human-driven modifications to environment on disease emergence.

A conflict between traditional flood measures and maintaining river ecosystems. A case study in river Lærdal, Norway

&lt;p&gt;Floods are among the most damaging natural disasters which are likely to increase with the effects of climate change and changes in land use. Therefore, rivers have been the focus of engineering for establishing structural flood mitigation measures. Traditional flood infrastructure, such as levees and dredging have threatened floodplains and river ecosystems and during the last decade, sustainable reconciliation of freshwater ecosystems is increasing. However, we still find many areas where these traditional measures are proposed and it is challenging to find tools for evaluations of different measures and quantification of the possible impacts. We propose the use of hydraulic modelling and remote sensing data for evaluation of different flood strategies and quantification of changes in hydraulic parameters in an ecological scale. This is applied in L&amp;#230;rdal River, in Norway, a national salmon river specially recognized by its environment for Atlantic salmon, where the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has proposed l flood measures that include confinement with walls and dredging in the riverbed. Results show that the constructing a higher wall could avoid dredging in the river bed resulting in a most cost-effective solution. Dredging could improve hydraulic conditions for juvenile salmon if applied as river restoration measure but channelization of the river would have big impacts in the river ecosystem.&lt;/p&gt;

The Effect of Carboxymethyl Chitosan on Calcium Carbonate Precipitation in Synthetic Brines

When oil production by natural flow of reservoirs decreases, it is necessary to increase the production by using improved recovery processes, such as water injection. Injection of incompatible water can cause the formation of saline deposits of calcium and magnesium carbonates. The use of chemical inhibitors to treat incrustations involves the use of chemicals with functional groups such as carboxylic acids (R-COOH) or phosphonates (R-PO32-). A new ecological scale inhibitor, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC1), has been synthesized and its capacity to modify the CaCO3 crystalline phases obtained in the solid residue was compared with that obtained when using a commercial carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC2) and a commercial poly(acrylic acid). The results show that under the used conditions, the CMC´s produce a slightly larger amount of crystalline phases than the synthetic inhibitor. Using the X-ray powder diffraction technique, calcite, vaterite, and aragonite were identified in the residual solid. The ratio of these phases was modified by increasing the concentration of the inhibitor. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), it was observed that increasing the concentration of the CMC's the modifies the crystal´s morphology from plates to spheres. Resumen. Cuando la producción de petróleo por flujo natural disminuye, es necesario aumentar la producción de petróleo crudo y gas mediante procesos de recuperación mejorados. El agua es el líquido que se inyecta y puede provocar la formación de depósitos salinos de carbonato de calcio y magnesio. El uso de inhibidores químicos para el tratamiento de incrustaciones implica el empleo de productos químicos con grupos funcionales del tipo ácido carboxílico (R-COOH) o grupos fosfonatos (R-PO32-). Se sintetizó un nuevo inhibidor de incrustaciones ambientalmente amigable en base a carboximetilquitosano (CMC1), y se compararon las fases cristalinas de CaCO3 obtenidas en el residuo sólido con las obtenidas al utilizar un carboximetilquitosano comercial (CMC2) y un poli (ácido acrílico) comercial. Los resultados muestran que, en las condiciones utilizadas, las CMC producen una cantidad ligeramente mayor de fases cristalinas en comparación con el inhibidor sintético. Mediante la técnica de difracción de rayos X de polvos, en el sólido residual se identificaron las fases: Calcita, Vaterita y Aragonita. La relación de las fases se modificó aumentando la concentración del inhibidor. Mediante Microscopía Electrónica de Barrido (SEM) de los residuos sólidos, se observó que al aumentar la concentración de las CMC's la morfología de los cristales se modificaba de placas a esferas.

Influence of Bison bonasus on flora and vegetation change in Krasnikovsky forestry of “Orlovskoe Polesie” national park

The purpose of the study is to reveal the influence of European bison (Bison bonasus) on flora and vegetation change in Krasnikovsky forestry of “Orlovskoe Polesie” national park. In August-September of 2019, floristic and geobotanical studies of flora and vegetation were carried out at self-feeding stations, in the locations of salt licks, as well as in the bisons’ passage points in Krasnikovsky forestry of “Orlovskoe Polesie” national park. There were identified 142 species of vascular plants of 9 phytocenotic formations according to G. Zozulin’s classification: nemoral, birch forest, helobious grass, alder, boreal-willow, boreal forest, pine forest, meadow and anthropogenic. The number of phytocenotic groups and the percentage of species in each of them varied. A direct relationship was established between the time of self-feeding stations formation and the participation of non-forest species in the corresponding phytocenoses: the earlier self-feeding station was formed, the higher the participation percentage in the coen of non-forest species. When assessing geobotanical descriptions according to the Ramensky’s pasture digression ecological scale it was revealed that the greatest digression degree is observed in the locations of self-feeding stations: from a moderate influence of grazing (semi-pasture stage, 5 points) to a weak influence of grazing (hay stage, 4.5 points). In places adjacent to feeding self-feeding stations, or bisons’ passages, a weak influence of grazing was noted, a haying stage (3.7-4.0 points). In the places solonetzic soil locations, the influence of grazing does not affect (2 points) or there is a weak influence of grazing, haying stage (3-4 points).