Safety Management in Sustainable Construction Projects: A Conceptual Framework

Safety management can be utilized effectively in sustainable construction projects, to produce safe sustainable construction projects. This highlights the necessity to gain a better understanding about safety management components with a view to pinpointing existing and future research issues to be addressed. Thus, this systematic review aims to demonstrate a knowledge base for safety management research grounded on the safety management components, and the integration of those components into sustainable construction projects, to produce safe sustainable construction projects. To achieve this, thirty-four peer-reviewed articles were classified into two categories. The first category is about safety management in typical construction projects, and the second category is about safety management in sustainable construction projects. Similar research in the last two decades points out the challenges associated with safety management in sustainable construction projects and the need to understand the associated safety management components that can lead to safer suitable construction projects. In addition, the synthesis suggests the need for a conceptual framework that explains the process of utilizing safety management components in sustainable construction projects to attain the desired safety outcomes in sustainable construction projects. Accordingly, this article provides a conceptual framework that integrates safety management components of traditional construction projects into sustainable construction projects, to achieve safe sustainable construction projects.

Exploring Plantation Development and Land Cover Changes in the Meme-Mungo Corridor of Cameroon

There is an apparent nexus between the development of plantations and changes in landcover. The Meme-Mungo Corridor is an example par excellence of a tropical plantation corridor in Cameroon which has witnessed significant expansion in tropical plantations of cocoa, banana, rubber and oil palm, among others. This paper analyzes the connection between land cover changes and plantation development over a 42-year period (1960 and 2012). A total of 100 households were sampled using the systematic sampling technique. Furthermore, multispectral data, obtained from the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF, 2005) were used in the classification of the study area. These images were processed using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) software and further compiled into a GIS database using ESRI ArcGIS software. The results showed that between 1960 and 2012, a more than 50% increase in the surface area of plantation crops was registered, leadingto a corresponding change in the land cover situation. Based on this, the study probed into the implications of further plantation development on land cover; further land cover changes could be attributed to the extension of plantations. This paperrecommends among others, the need for intensive agriculture to be encouraged so as to ensure an increase in agricultural output against the backdrop of a decline in agricultural space. Furthermore, augmenting agro-product value chains will stem the loss of agro-produce due to perishability. This will contribute to regulate extensive plantation development in the area.

Use of Distributed Electricity Generation Technologies in Hotels

Distributed electricity generation technologies have increasing applications worldwide in various sectors due to their environmental and economic benefits. In the present study the use of these technologies in hotel industry is investigated. Various distributed electricity technologies, including co-generation of heat and power systems, are examined. Some of them are using renewable energies like solar energy, wind energy and biomass for electricity generation. Others are related with various co-generation systems including fuel cells. Many hotels require almost equal amounts of heat and electricity in their daily operations. Co-generation technologies have the advantage that they can cover almost all of their requirements in both electricity and heat. Some distributed electricity generation technologies including solar photovoltaic energy, co-generation systems, wind turbines and fuel cells are already used in hotels. Their energy efficiency varies in the range of 10% to 90%. Technologies using renewable energies generate carbon-free electricity while others fueled by natural gas generate electricity with low carbon impacts. Each technology has advantages and drawbacks while the possibility of using each technology depends on hotel’s characteristics as well as on the local availability of renewable energy sources. The results of the present study are important in hotel industry since they indicate the possibility of using the environmentally friendly distributed electricity generation technologies for covering their electricity as well as, in some cases, their heating requirements reducing their carbon footprint due to energy use and increasing their energy and environmental sustainability.

Climate Variability and the Emergence of Malaria: Case of Kumbo Central Sub-Division, North West Region, Cameroon

Climate variability and change is a major driver of infectious diseases around the world. This study sought to investigate the role of climate variability on the emergence of malaria in the North West region of Cameroon. Both biophysical and socio-economic data were collected for this study. Biophysical data, mainly secondary, was collected from meteorological stations (rainfall and temperature data) and hospitals (malaria morbidity and mortality statistics) in the study area. Socio-economic data were collected from primary sources, mainly, survey of households and hospitals, using semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 164 questionnaires were distributed amongst medical personnel and the general public (aged 18-70 years). Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that patterns of fluctuation in climate parameters did not have a perfect match with rates of prevalence of malaria. However, some relatively significant correlation was found to exist between certain aspects of climate and rates of prevalence of malaria. It was noted that other drivers are involved in influencing rates of prevalence of malaria besides climate variability and change. Amongst the impacts of malaria prevalence on the population were high rates of morbidity and mortality. The population employed treated mosquito bed nets as the main coping strategy for fighting against malaria. The study recommends that the health sector should incorporate the phenomena of climate variability and change into its policy framework, and more research should be conducted to assess other drivers of malaria prevalence in north western Cameroon.

Exploring Water Management Practices and Sustainability Implications in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon

City governments, the world over, are grappling with the problem of sustaining water supply to their rapidly growing population. The need to meet up with this exigency has been emphasized in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) and SDG 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable). While a series of demand and supply-side approaches to water management have been employed, the extent to which water management practices could guarantee (un)sustainability still require clarity, especially in the context of cities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Taking the case of the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon, we contribute to address this lacunae, by identifying household level water management practices in Bamenda, and discussing the implications it has for sustainable water supply (availability, affordability). To obtain relevant data for this study, a random sample of 120 households, within 8 neighborhoods of Bamenda, was conducted. Furthermore, we employed descriptive and inferential statistical methods to test the relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and water management (consumption, rationing, preservation). The results reveal the following: In terms of regularity, approximately 63% of the households have irregular water supply, and consume less than 50 litres of water per day. The key water source is pipe borne water (65%), supplied by CAMWATER and Community Water Systems. One of the main water management practice at household level is rainwater harvesting (41.7%), while sustainability is compromised by the weak management systems from supply side, and limited knowledge and resources at the demand side (household level). There is a need for policy (re)orientation to regulate household water distribution, consumption and affordability. Further studies are required to ground this assertion.

Impacts of Climate Change: Can Fisheries and Aquaculture Sectors Survive the Wave?

Studies have shown the impact of climate change on the ocean ecosystem and the fishing and aquaculture sectors. As global warming intensifies, this will impact communities and communities as the populations of some fish species decline or increase. Research on the impacts of climate change to fisheries will facilitate the development of policies, helping communities to adapt while ensuring resilience and sustainability of the sector(s). This paper assesses the short term and long-term impacts of climate change to the ocean ecosystem, the consequences to economies and communities that rely on fishing for food security. It begins with a review of peer reviewed literature, followed by an analysis of the current policies and ends with some recommendations for governments in the sustainability and management of the ecosystem in the future. Important to note is the impact of human generated hazards and how a more holistic approach to minimizing risks to the ocean ecosystem could resolve threats of food insecurity in future.

An Appraisal of Over-tourism on the Island of Crete, Greece

Over-tourism is a multi-faced problem with severe economic, social and environmental consequences in tourist destinations. The island of Crete is an attractive and popular tourist destination in the Eastern Mediterranean basin and it is currently ranked among the ten most overcrowded EU tourism NUTS-2 regions. This fact could threaten and harm the fragile natural ecosystems in the island resulting in the decline of the prosperous tourism industry in the future. The aim of the current work is the estimation of various tourism indexes in the island of Crete which characterize over-tourism. Data regarding tourist arrivals and overnight stays in Crete in the previous years have been used for estimating the appropriate tourism indexes. Comparisons with other EU regions and with the average EU and global values have also been made. The possibility of creating a tourism observatory in Crete for tackling excess tourism has also been outlined. Our results indicate that Crete is categorized as an overcrowded tourism destination among EU regions while its tourism indexes are above the EU and global average. Cooperation among all stakeholders in the Cretan tourism industry is required in order to cope with over-tourism, shifting the local tourism industry towards a more sustainable and responsible model. The creation of a tourism observatory on the island with the participation of all tourism stakeholders is necessary. The observatory will assist in the development of the required policies offering guidance and advice for tackling excess tourism in Crete, avoiding economic, social and environmental degradation in the future.

Participation and Development Buzzwords

The concept of sustainable development cannot be imagined without ownership, innovation, empowerment, and sustainability itself. In the same manner, it is not possible to achieve objectives of catchphrases like ownership, innovation, empowerment, and sustainability without ensuring genuine participation in the development projects. Genuine participation refers to a participatory process that takes place based on well-informed participants. A well-being outcome of participation relies on participants with sufficient knowledge of the issue and development process (Hussain, Khuhro, 2019). It is different from mobilisation campaign that emphasis on particular project objectives. In order to achieve goals of sustainable development, well-being participation is an essential step to take. This paper argues that a lack of real participation potentially restricts a sustainable development project to achieve objectives of ownership, innovation, empowerment, and sustainability, respectively.

Biking Acculturation Incidence on the Cameroon Urban Activity Fluxes: A Traffic Congestion Panacea or Palliative in Bamenda?

City activity fluxes are reminiscent of stakeholder mobility in the urban sphere service and functions. Such mobility affects income and work assiduity though often creating accidents, material damage and pollution of varied forms of urban transportation that has lately witnessed the adaption to motorbikes as an alternatively favoured means of movement to that car. Salvaging economic depression and affordability has given biking an edge of success of recent which raises the recurrent question of its spatio-temporal and technical sustainability in in the freight sector. This paper evaluates the commercialisation of bike riding despite levied negativism perceptions in providing an alternative to the major urban problem of traffic congestion and its contribution to peter the pitfalls of the congestion. To assess the urban congestion intensity, traffic flow count was conducted during the rainy and dry season of spatio-temporal of vehicles (from the city centre to the suburbs). Findings agree to the fact that vehicular traffic congestion with increasing number of bikes was found to be higher along the N-E than the N-W road axis in direct conformity with sampled urban congestion triggers for Bamenda related to road infrastructural traits and vehicular numbers. Though motor bikes initially were a panacea, the sum effect of congestion reveals the urgent need for urban mass transport systems that should be complemented by a holistic urban transport governance involving the creation of deviation routes and enforcing traffic congestion rules.

Bridging Sustainability and Food Security Ideas Towards Building Sustainable Food Systems

Having stable access to nutritious and culturally preferred food to maintain health and well-being is still a challenge for many people across the globe. Food insecurity and environmental degradation is rising across the world with interrelated drivers. There has been increasing advocacy for the creation of sustainable food systems to support food and nutritional security without degrading the environment. Bridging sustainability and food security ideas is a step towards building such food systems. However, how to apply ideas of sustainability and food security into building sustainable food systems remains a challenge, given the connection between the two concepts is not well appreciated. I introduce a sustainability and food security assessment framework as a first step for bridging sustainability and food security concepts, towards building sustainable food systems.