Sewage Treatment by Waste Stabilization Pond Systems

Sewage generated in Ghana is commonly discharged into the environment without any form of treatment to reduce the degree ofcontamination and mitigate potential public health and environmental issues. Although some attempts have been made in someparts of Ghana to utilize the waste stabilization pond (WSP) system to treat domestic sewage, the ponds often fail to achievetheir purpose due to lack of basic maintenance and supervision. To assess the utility of the WSP system for treating sewage,wastewater samples were collected from the raw sewage, anaerobic, facultative and maturation ponds of WSPs at Obuasi inGhana, and analyzed for physicochemical and microbiological contaminants. The results show that the final pond effluent meetsrecommended microbiological and chemical quality guidelines. The waste stabilization pond system demonstrates high removalefficiencies of wastewater contaminants. The biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, nitrate and faecal coliformsreduction efficiencies of 97.3%, 97.6%, 83.3% and 99.94% respectively are highly significant, and compare well with reportedremoval efficiencies in the literature. Additionally, the ponds have high reduction efficiencies for heavy metals and pathogenicmicroorganisms. The wastewater treatment system complies with standard wastewater management practices, and provides auseful method for treating and disposing wastewater in Ghana.

Market Survey of Non-Timber Forest Products in the Sunyani Municipality

This study sought to: (1) identify the types and sources of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) traded; (2) find the frequencyof the NTFPs trade and (3) identify the challenges in NTFPs trading in the Sunyani Municipality. The survey was carried outfrom February, 2014 to April, 2014 mainly at the Sunyani Central and Nana Bosoma Markets in the Sunyani Municipality. Thetarget population comprised NTFPs collectors (gatherers), sellers and consumers. Respondents were purposively sampled. Atotal of 100 respondents were engaged in this study. The NTFPs were grouped into six categories namely; food, medicine,building materials, packaging materials, artefacts and domestic utensils. Key informants’ interviews were also conducted atthe Sunyani Forest Services Division to triangulate the data already gathered. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was usedto analyze the data obtained. The study demonstrated that domestic utensils (37%), food (33%), medicinal products (12%),packaging materials (9%), artefacts (6%) and building materials (3%) were the types of NTFPs traded in the two market centers.The results also showed that majority of the respondents (77%) harvest their NTFPs from forest lands as against 23% whoharvest from communal lands. A significant proportion of the respondents (52%) traded in above 40 kg of NTFPs and only 4%were seen trading in 10 kg of NTFPs. The study further highlighted that food (28%) and domestic utensils (26%) were regularlybrought to the market centers on weekly basis whilst significant proportions of medicinal products (9%), building materials(3%) and artefacts (4%) were brought to the market venues on monthly basis. Cumbersome permit procedure (40%), increasedmarket demand (15%) and financial constraints (20%) were identified as some of the challenges encountered in NTFPs tradingin the Sunyani Municipality. To ensure strict monitoring and sustainability of the resource, there is the need for sensitizationprogramme on the importance of NTFPs in rural livelihood and why their conservation is vital in meeting the needs of thepresent generation whilst not undermining their potential in supplying the needs of future generations.

Mine Water Management – A study at Edikan Gold Mine (EGM)

Water is an essential part of all mining activities and the availability of quality water year round is critical to mining operations.Mine water is largely employed in drilling, dust suppression, mineral processing and other in-pit operations. Shortage of water ina mine results in poor drilling control, dust pollution, and mill shutdowns, hence a critical need to optimize the use of water invarious mining processes. This paper seeks to establish an effective mine water management system at Edikan Gold Mine (EGM)to have enough water in store for drought conditions. A site water balance was established primarily taking into accounts theinflows and outflows of water at the mine. Results show that rainfall and the Asuafa River are the principal sources of water forEGM mining operations, while the processing plant was the main water user on the mine site. Annual net water balance is alsoestimated to help determine the required capacities of future water storage facilities.

Mining Activities and the Spatial-Temporal Variations of Earthquakes in Southern Africa

Spatial-temporal variations in earthquake occurrence have been studied in many regions of the world but little can be said aboutthe Southern Africa Region in this regard. Using earthquakes of magnitudes greater than or equal to one together with theFORTRAN language and Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), spatial variations of earthquakes spanning the period 1966 to 2014were examined for the region. Similarly, the temporal variations with earthquakes of magnitudes greater than or equal to fourwere studied. The spatial analysis showed that the highest number of events (1438) in the period occurred at an average depthof around 7.5 km representing approximately 79.9 % of the total earthquakes considered. The temporal distribution of events onthe other hand showed that the highest number of events (590) were recorded in the year 1993. Three main issues were identifiedas potential factors responsible for the observed variations. Activities such as mining and failures in weak zones of the rockmass as well as increase in the number of stations were identified as the key factors responsible for the observed distributions.The third factor could not be independently verified. However, earlier studies suggest that this factor indeed have caused majorearthquakes in the region.

The application of GIS in mapping of flood hazard areas and assessing of risk in kumasi, Ghana

Flooding is one of the most dangerous natural hazards which causes economic losses and death globally. In the last three decades,there has been a rise in flooding events globally. Furthermore, it has been projected that the occurrence of flooding is expectedto rise due to urbanization, haphazard development, rise in precipitation and deforestation. Floods in Kumasi have become aperennial phenomenon. This has caused significant damages to properties and financial losses. The research utilized a geographicinformation system through a modelling approach to map flood hazard and assess risk in Kumasi. The results reveal that inthe study, 53% of the entire area was found to be highly susceptible to flooding. In addition, 35% of the population are athigh risk of flooding. The high-risk zone was found to cover the north – western and the city centre. Also, the city centre wasidentified to be highly prone to flooding and also floods are likely to occur in the rainy season. Moreover, Bantama and Subinwere identified to be at more risk of flooding as compared to the other sub- metros. The results from the flood hazard map andthe risk map suggest flooding in Kumasi is of critical concern and thus flood management strategies need to be implemented.

Chemical modification of Petersianthus macrocarpus (essia), to determine whether durability depends on bulking or hydroxyl substitution

Wood is a biodegradable material. Decay resistance of wood is improved when the wood is chemically modified. The decayresistance of a chemically modified wood is improved as the modification stabilizes the cell wall polymers against enzyme attackdue to the blocking of accessible hydroxyl groups of the cell wall polymers which reduces the amount of water for hydrolysis. Theimproved durability of the modified wood as a result of reducing the amount of water molecules into the cell wall for hydrolysiswill depend on either bulking or percentage hydroxyl substitution (%OH). Petersianthus macrocarpus (essia), a tropical hardwoodspecies was chemically modified with acetic anhydride (AA) and pentanoic anhydride (PA) in dry pyridine to improve its decayresistance. Graveyard test was used to analyze the effect of the modification on the decay resistance of the wood in twelve weeksin-ground contact. Percentage weight loss and visual decay grades were used to evaluate whether the decay resistance dependson weight percentage gain or percentage hydroxyl substitution. The decay resistance of the modified samples were found to bedependent on bulking.

Factors Affecting Stakeholders’ Participation in Collaborative Forest Management: The Case of Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve in Ghana

Sustainable management of forest depends on effective participation of primary stakeholders - the local people. This paperfocuses on the assessment of factors that affect participation of local people in four key aspects of forest management - planning,implementation, monitoring and benefit-sharing - in Ghana using a case study of Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve (KHFR). Datacollected from 407 households living around the forest reserve were analyzed to determine the factors affecting participationin reserve management. Socio-demographic actors were found to have mixed effects on reserve management, with reserveplanning associated with gender and educational status of the respondents while benefit-sharing was associated with respondents’educational status and the awareness of collaborative forest management policy. These results imply that for sustainablemanagement of KHFR and similar forest areas in Ghana through collaborative arrangements, policy-makers and forest managersshould consider socio-demographic attributes of primary stakeholders.

Analysis of Household Energy Efficiency in developing countries using the Long Energy Alternative Planning System (Case Study: Ghana)

Ghana continues to face periodic energy crisis particularly in the power sector. The dominant household energy fuels in Ghanaare mainly biomass, oil products and hydropower. Efficient and wise use of available resources would consequently reduce theeffects and scarcity of these energy resources and make energy more accessible to many households in future. The objective ofthis paper is to use the LEAP model to develop three scenaria to depict a business as usual, assumed lower (10%) and higher(30%) energy savings on household energy intensities by 2030. Key factors relevant in the analysis included current and futurehousehold size, economic growth and saturation of household energy appliances. The results of this research shows a 30%reduction in total household energy consumption thus, higher energy saving scenario which would save about 1,552 ktoe andreduce GHG emission by 1,077.2 ktCO2 equivalent as compared to the baseline scenario by 2030. This scenario would reducehealth risk associated with biomass use and save households income on fuel. Effective implementation of policies and lawsbanning inefficient household electrical devices such as refrigerators, air-conditioners and lighting bulbs is necessary. In addition,awareness on energy savings on improved cooking stoves and automatic lighting control systems in buildings is beneficial inachieving this target. Meanwhile programs and policies in Ghana should aim at barriers in renewable energy technologies toensure its significance in the household energy mix.

Integration of Cumin markets in Rajasthan

The study investigated the integration between cumin (Cuminum cyminum) markets pairs in Rajasthan State using monthlycumin price series of five (5) markets from 2008-2015. The co-integration tests results indicate Nagaur and Pali; Nagaur andJodhpur; Nagaur and Jalore markets are integrated in the long run at lag five (5). However, the rest of other market pairs arenot integrated in the long run. The results from the error correction model showed that, the lowest speed of adjustment towardslong run equilibrium was from Nagaur to Jalore market at rate of 37.4%. The highest speed of adjustment was 56.6%, runningNagaur to Pali market towards long run equilibrium. This is followed by a speed of adjustment of 45.1% running from Nagaur toJodhpur market towards along run equilibrium in a period of at most one (1) month. The results further indicate bidirectionalcausality between Nagaur and Pali markets and also Naguar and Jalore markets. There is also a unidirectional causality of pricechange from Merta City market of Nagaur to Bhagat Ki Kothi market of Jodhpur but not vise versa. The results from theunrestricted vector autoregressive (VAR) model was run for market pairs that were not cointegrated that cumin price seriesbetween Ajmer and Jodhpur; Jodhpur and Pali and Jodhpur and Jalore Granger causes each other in the short run whereasAjmer Granger causes Nagaur, Pali and Jalore in less than one month though in the long run they drift apart. The study furtherreveal that orthogonalized shock or unexpected shocks to Nagaur market will result in permanent effect on the prices of otherselected markets within one year. In the same way, unexpected shock to market prices of Pali will result in permanent priceeffect on Nagaur cumin prices but temporary on prices in Jodhpur. On the other hand unexpected shock to prices of Ajmer willresults in transitory or temporary price effect on prices in Pali, Nagaur, Jodhpur and Jalore markets.

A decade and half of Ghana’s trade in African Mahogany: A Review

This paper sought to review Ghana’s performance with regard to trade in African mahogany from 2001 to 2015. The studyassessed the volume, types of product exported, extent of product innovation and export destinations of the species and woodproducts in general. From the results, the highest export volume was recorded in 2007 (32,149m3) and the least of 14,082m3in 2001. The timber industry was mainly involved in secondary processing of mahogany as veneer, block board, air and kilndried lumber and plywood. Tertiary processing was comparatively low and products like floorings and furniture parts were rarelyexported. The major markets were in Europe, Africa, America, Asia and the Middle East. Considering the depletion of thisimportant timber species in the national forest estate and its attendant loss of revenue, Ghana should vigorously restock degradedareas and incentivize mills engaged in tertiary processing of timber species.