Vegetation characteristics of pastoralist households’ pastures at different economic levels were quantiifed to compare the grassland conditions in Sunite Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, China in 2011 and 2012. The resu...Vegetation characteristics of pastoralist households’ pastures at different economic levels were quantiifed to compare the grassland conditions in Sunite Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, China in 2011 and 2012. The results showed that the heights of Stipa klemenzis and Cleistogenes songorica were similar among economic treatments. And the height of Allium polyrhizm had no signiifcant differences between high-economic-level （HEL） and low-economic-level （LEL） treatments. There were no signiifcant difference among treatments in the canopy cover of C. songorica. The densities of dominant species （S. klemenzis, C. songorica and A. polyrhizm） were signiifcantly similar among treatments. Aboveground community biomass in reference area （CK） was higher than that in other three treatments in 2011, but their biomass showed no signiifcant difference among three economic treatments;for 2012, biomass in HEL was higher than low-economic-level treatment （LEL）, while the biomass in middle-economic-level treatment （MEL） and CK was similar to that in HEL and LEL, respectively. Aboveground biomass of S. klemenzis and C. songorica was similar among treatments in both 2011 and 2012. Biomass of A. polyrhizum had no signiifcant difference between HEL and MEL. Households of LEL had rented out excess lands and those of HEL had leased their available lands thus resulting uniform utilization and convergence of pastoralist households’ pastures across all economic levels.展开更多
A mobile portal is an internet gateway that provides online services primarily accessed via mobiles and other handheld devices. Mobile portals are part of web 3.0 that is starting to revolutionize online services. Suc...A mobile portal is an internet gateway that provides online services primarily accessed via mobiles and other handheld devices. Mobile portals are part of web 3.0 that is starting to revolutionize online services. Such portals can help pastoralists in Kenya access essential information and marketing services online. The aim of the study was to design and implement a mobile portal that will help Kenyan pastoralists improve their yields. The study adopted systems development life cycle (SDLC) methodology to design, implement and test the portal and used structured interviews and observation to collect user requirements. The portal was coded in J2ME, JSP and SQL languages and developed using Java Development Kit (JDK), Sun Wireless Toolkit, Lightweight User Interface Toolkit (LWUIT), Struts, Tomcat and MySQL. The outcome of the study was the mobile portal successfully developed, tested and deployed.展开更多
Farmer-pastoralist conflicts represent a significant challenge for rural communities and the Tanzanian government.The study objectives were to(i)determine existing forms of conflicts and(ii)identify drivers underlying...Farmer-pastoralist conflicts represent a significant challenge for rural communities and the Tanzanian government.The study objectives were to(i)determine existing forms of conflicts and(ii)identify drivers underlying resource use conflicts.The manuscript is based on a study that adopted a cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected from 373 randomly selected respondents from Kilosa and Kiteto districts,Tanzania,while primary data were collected through interviews,observations and focus group discussions,secondary data were gathered from government reports and newspapers.Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science(SPSS)version 20.0.Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out for quantitative data.Factor analysis was used to extract component factors on drivers and forms of conflicts,whereas content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.Generally,study results show that there were three main forms of conflict namely farmers versus pastoralists over village boundaries;farmers versus pastoralists over livestock routes and farmers versus farmers over the land.In addition,four main drivers underlying resource use conflicts were identified namely crop damage by livestock;inefficiency of government officials in taking action to diffuse conflicts;excessively large herds of cattle and corruption.It is therefore recommended that pastoralists should be provided with essential services such as water in order to minimize movement of their livestock herds from their designated villages to other areas in search of water.This would,in the long run,minimise crop damage which has been a major source of conflict.In addition,proper land use planning is recommended to minimize resource use conflicts.展开更多
Climate change is a global phenomenon that involves the long-term fluctuation of the earth’s climate system. Specifically, climate change is acknowledged as a vital challenge to pastoralist production systems. Howeve...Climate change is a global phenomenon that involves the long-term fluctuation of the earth’s climate system. Specifically, climate change is acknowledged as a vital challenge to pastoralist production systems. However, limited research attention was given to exploring the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies in the southeastern part of Ethiopia. Thus, the study tried to assess the predictors of pastoralists’ climate change adaptation strategies in the Korahey zone of Ethiopia. The study was based on a survey of 215 representative pastoralist households were randomly selected from the three districts of the Korahey zone. To achieve the objective, household questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data at the household as well as the district level. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics like percentage, frequency, mean, and inferential statistics (multinomial logit model). Multinomial logit was employed to analyze the determinant factors of pastoralists’ adaptation strategies to climate change. The finding shows that household pastoralists adopt different climate change adaptation strategies in their locality;from this herd diversification (10.7%), storage of fodder (14.4%), mobility (23.7%), Livestock off-take (12%), saving scheme (8.8%) and household and herd splitting (15.3%) are the major pastoralists’ adaptation strategies to climate change in the study area. The results of the multinomial logit model show that sex, age, family size, access to climate information, access to credit services, access to extension services and livestock ownership were identified as the major determinants factors of climate change adaptation strategies in Korahey zone. The study recommended that the local government, planners and decision-makers should give awareness regarding the role of information in the pastoralists’ adoption of climate change adaptation strategies and enhance extension services to support pastoralists in their adaptation efforts.展开更多
Mobile pastoralist communities in Sahel countries have serious problems of access to social services. Classic strategies for social services were always based on a single sector, focused on settled populations, and ha...Mobile pastoralist communities in Sahel countries have serious problems of access to social services. Classic strategies for social services were always based on a single sector, focused on settled populations, and hardly reached mobile communities. This paper aims to show a cross-sector approach as a part of solutions to provide social services for mobile pastoralist communities and describes the ongoing scaling-up process. The method used is based on a transdisciplinary approach which involves target communities and authorities in all processes through workshops and site visits. Interventions adopted the concept of ＂one health＂ benefiting of an added value of closer cooperation between human and animal health. This approach was tested with joint interventions between human and animal health, which provided access to health services for unreached communities and saved resource when compared with single sector intervention. Such approaches could be extended to other social services within cross-sector interventions such as the delivery of basic education in nomadic areas. Such a strategy was validated by the communities and authorities and was further transformed into a national programme after a series of six national stakeholders＇ seminars. The cross-sector intervention will provide a minimum package of services （MPS） without compromising the structural services.展开更多
Land use conflicts are complex disputes that contribute at large in terms of negative social and economic impacts within the heterogeneous societies.The mechanisms of success for land use conflict resolution still nee...Land use conflicts are complex disputes that contribute at large in terms of negative social and economic impacts within the heterogeneous societies.The mechanisms of success for land use conflict resolution still need further research because of various mindsets of the people.In this paper,the issues of land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania mainland which could lead to low economic development are reviewed and the general causes and effects of land use conflicts are outlined.Poor land governance,inappropriate of land use plans,inadequate land policies,land tenure insecurity,corruption and population increases are cited as being among of the main offenders fuelling land use conflicts in Tanzania.展开更多
Introduction:Community perception plays a significant role in rangeland resource management.Traditional rangeland management practices by the pastoral communities are based on accumulated knowledge in connection to th...Introduction:Community perception plays a significant role in rangeland resource management.Traditional rangeland management practices by the pastoral communities are based on accumulated knowledge in connection to their local environment.Pastoralism played a vital role in food production and sustaining its inhabitants in arid environment for millennia.However,national policies and development interventions in East African pastoral systems have often overlooked pastoralism while centered on the modernization of agricultural sector for economic development and poverty reduction.Methods:We used household survey,focus group discussion,key informant interview,and individual questionnaire to understand the perceptions and attitude of Afar pastoralists towards rangeland resource use and conservation practices,as well as impacts of development intervention on traditional rangeland resource use and conservation practices.The data were analyzed using index ranking and descriptive statistics.Results:The results showed that livestock holding per household was higher on average(22.90±2.27 Tropical Livestock Unit(TLU))in the non-intervened woreda than in the intervened woreda(8.30±3.85 TLU).Respondents mentioned that livestock productivity was adversely affected by a number of factors such as invasion of Prosopis juliflora(Dergi Hara),shrinkage in the capacity of rangelands(Beadu and Bebea’),and recurrent droughts.Scarcity of grazing resources attributed to the invasion of Dergi Hara and drought created livestock feed crisis with strong implication on the livelihood of pastoralists.Our results showed that the traditional resource management practices such as mobility,herd splitting,and diversification had a role to contribute to the improvement of rangeland management and conservation of biodiversity.Traditional rules and seasonal-based grazing patterns of riversides during drought were perceived as key elements for rangeland resource management and conservation of rangeland resources in the study area.Conclusions:Communities’perception showed that the traditional practices of rangeland management systems are effective and environmentally sustainable.In contrast,inappropriate development interventions put rangelands under severe pressure.Although development interventions were aimed at improving the condition of Afar rangeland,they could not bring any enduring solution in terms of improvement of rangeland resources.展开更多
Contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia （CBPP） is one of the endemic and life-threatening livestock diseases in the arid and semi-arid land areas （ASALs） of Kenya, which justify the case for the control of livestock di...Contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia （CBPP） is one of the endemic and life-threatening livestock diseases in the arid and semi-arid land areas （ASALs） of Kenya, which justify the case for the control of livestock diseases to avoid the spread of such diseases from the ASALs to the rest of the country, and a CBPP control quarantine line （CQL） that to help prevent the spread of CBPP from the ASALs of North-eastern Kenya to the rest of the country has been in existence since the colonial （pre-1963） times in Kenya. However, the livestock keepers in the ASALs view the CQL as an impediment to their main source of livelihoods because it entails livestock movement restrictions, thus constraining unfettered livestock marketing. Available literature shows that there is a dearth of information on the economics of livestock diseases control in Kenya in terms of its impacts on social welfare. Employing the CQL as a case study, this study shows that an application of analytic techniques that combine disease risk analysis and conventional cost-benefit modelling that incorporates some aspects that are specific to livestock diseases and their control strategies can generate indices of economic impacts of livestock diseases control on social welfare. The study finds that the livestock keepers and traders in Kenya do not consider CBPP a major problem to warrant livestock movement restrictions, yet the official records of the veterinary authorities indicate that CBPP is a major threat to the cattle industry in Kenya. Annually, the government spends substantial resources on the CQL operation and maintenance and also on CBPP surveillance and monitoring to contain the CBPP menace in Kenya. This study shows that such expenditures are economically and socially justifiable. Nevertheless, the study finds some operational inefficiencies in the enforcement of the CQL requirements. The authors, therefore, undertake an evaluation of alternative CBPP control strategies and conclude that it would be more cost effective to shift the CQL from its current location to the international borders of the arid districts, provided that this action is preceded by adequate CBPP control preparatory measures, as described in the paper.展开更多
A survey to identify constraints and design strategies to improve the camel milk and meat value chains was conducted in northern Kenya using Participatory Integrated Community Development （PICD）, Focus Group Discuss...A survey to identify constraints and design strategies to improve the camel milk and meat value chains was conducted in northern Kenya using Participatory Integrated Community Development （PICD）, Focus Group Discussions （FGD）, among other methods. In a second step, field testing of an intervention on milk and meat hygiene was carried out at household level. Survey results indicated that about 50% of marketable camel milk was not sold, 30% of marketed camel milk per annum was sold in sour state at US$ 0.13 lower that the price of a litre of fresh milk while processed meat got spoiled along the chain. Annual economic losses associated with milk spoilage were estimated at US$ 961,538.5. Preliminary findings of the field testing indicated that an additional 3 million litres of camel milk was sold in fresh state, giving an annual saving of US$ 384,615.4. Increased profitability of up to 60% compared to 30% before the intervention was reported among nyirinyiri processors. In conclusion, economic potential of the camel could be fully exploited by facilitating adoption of interventions such as hygiene, among others at all levels of the camel milk and meat value chains.展开更多
China has made efforts to protect wild yak （Bos mutus） species and prevent the hybrids between wild yak and domestic yak （Bos grunniens） species.At present,wild yak population of a reasonable estimate would be ove...China has made efforts to protect wild yak （Bos mutus） species and prevent the hybrids between wild yak and domestic yak （Bos grunniens） species.At present,wild yak population of a reasonable estimate would be over 70,000.Due to conservation efforts in environmental protection and ecological construction such as the Wildlife Protection and Nature Reserve Construction Project,the ＂Grain-for-Green＂ Project and the Natural Forest Resources Protection Project,the number of wild yaks is increasing.In general,Tibetan Plateau＇s ecosystem is getting better and its environmental quality shows a gradual improving trend.Tibetan Plateau is one of the world＇s cleanest regions called as the ＂Third Pole＂.In order to preserve the genetic pool of wild yaks,local pastoralists and polices drive off the wild male yaks from the domestic yak herds by making noise （banging washbasins,pots,etc.） or driving cars.Local government also incentivizes the culling of domestic yaks found in wild herds.For the sake of the biological and genetic features of this wild species,and the pastoralist way of life,wild yaks should continuously be protected to keep their genetic integrity.We appeal plans to investigate the gene pollution of wild yaks in some important distribution regions of this species.In the face of hybridizing with domestic yaks,proper guidance is urgently needed to address genetic pollution and protect the genetic integrity of wild yaks.展开更多
The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production pe...The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production per capita(physical capital),and areas of fenced pasture,livestock shelter,grassland rodent control and planted grassland(physical capital) as proxy indicators of livelihood promotion,livelihood provision,and livelihood protection respectively.By developing a correlation model between pastoralists' livelihood protection and improvement,we found that(1) there is a statistically significant correlation between the pastoralists' livelihood protection and promotion;(2) based on the maximum effect of pastoralists' livelihood promotion and provision,there is a benchmark in the effect of the intervention intensity of livelihood capital(grassland resource protection) on livelihood improvement;(3) on basis of two indicators,i.e.net income per capita and meat production per capita,the reasonable scales of fenced pasture,livestock shelter and planted grassland are less than 843,860 and 46 thousand hectares(hm2) per year respectively.With the marginal effect of livelihood protection,moderately decreased areas of fenced pasture and planted grassland,and increased area of livestock shelter is a critical to ensure pastoralist's livelihood sustainability.展开更多
For plant populations to persist,seedling recruitment is essential,requiring seed germination,seedling survival and growth.Drought and grazing potentially reduce seedling recruitment via increased mortality and reduce...For plant populations to persist,seedling recruitment is essential,requiring seed germination,seedling survival and growth.Drought and grazing potentially reduce seedling recruitment via increased mortality and reduced growth.We studied these seederelated processes for two species indigenous to the Pamir Mountains of Xinjiang in northwestern China:Saussurea glacialis and Plantago lessingii.Seeds collected from Taxkorgan,Xinjiang,had a viability rate of 15.8%for S.glacialis but 100%for P.lessingii.Of the viable seeds,the highest germination rates were 62.9%for S.glacialis and 45.6%for P.lessingii.In a greenhouse experiment,we imposed a series of stressful conditions,involving a combination of simulated grazing and drought events.These had the most severe impact on younger seedlings.Modelling showed that 89%of S.glacialis mortality was due to early simulated grazing,whereas 80%of P.lessingii mortality was due to early simulated drought.Physiological differences could contribute to their differing resilience.S.glacialis may rely on water storage in leaves to survive drought events,but showed no shifts in biomass allocation that would improve grazing tolerance.P.lessingii appears more reliant on its root system to survive grazing,but the root reserves of younger plants could be insufficient to grow deeper in response to drought.After applying all mortality factors,17.7 seedlings/parent of P.lessingii survived,while only<0.1 seedlings/parent of S.glacialis survived,raising concerns for its capacity to persist in the Pamirs.Inherent genetic differences may underlie the two species’contrasting grazing and drought responses.Thus,differing conservation strategies are required for their utilization and protection.展开更多
Drastic changes have occurred in Siti zone rangeland over nearly the last three decades, due to rapid land conversion dynamics in the area. In the zone, the land-use change over time and space and temporal trends rang...Drastic changes have occurred in Siti zone rangeland over nearly the last three decades, due to rapid land conversion dynamics in the area. In the zone, the land-use change over time and space and temporal trends rangeland condition have never been studied. This study analyzed land use and land cover (LULC) change dynamics since the 1980s. Three dates, 1985, 2001 and 2017, Landsat images were used for classification and analysis of the various LULC. The three images were geo-referenced, re-sampled and processed for classification, using the maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. Moreover, field observations and information from local people were used for triangulation to patterns LULC dynamics. From 1985 to 2017, the general trend observed in the land use/cover change in the rangeland resources in the study districts implies a loss of grassland cover was compensated by an increase in cultivated areas, settlement and shrub/bush land cover. Moreover, the encroachments of invasive plant, Prosopis, settlement and the promotion of cultivation to pastoral way of livelihood have exacerbated the decline of rangeland cover. The study findings have shown important changes in the LULC patterns in the north-eastern Somali rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. These trends are certainly the characteristics of a pastoral way of life turn to settlement. This suggests that major changes in the socio-ecological driving forces affecting landscape dynamics have occurred in the last three decades or so.展开更多
Climate change has adverse effects on household food security and on poverty alleviation among pastoralists. This study used unique household-level data from 415 pastoral households from three sub-counties—of Narok C...Climate change has adverse effects on household food security and on poverty alleviation among pastoralists. This study used unique household-level data from 415 pastoral households from three sub-counties—of Narok County in Kenya to identify the major determinants of their decision to select different community-based adaptation strategies to impacts of climate change. The results from a logit model indicated that the household head characteristics (gender, education (secondary and university level), marital status, and the main occupation), socio-economic and institutional factors (access to credit, access to water, and access to climate related information) were important in enhancing the adoption of the adaptation strategies to impacts of climate change. Therefore, to enhance the resilience of pastoral communities to impacts of climate change, policies that incorporate indigenous knowledge, promote community-led adaptation, enhance effective and appropriate dissemination of climate-related information at the local level and those that provide access to relevant institutions should be formulated. In addition, livestock off-take schemes, and framework needs to be set through the establishment of effective and efficient livestock markets specifically in the pastoral areas in order to cushion pastoralist from deepening into food insecurity and poverty during the occurrences of extreme climate events.展开更多
<span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Tana River Delta is occupied predominantly by pastoral and farming communities that inhabit defined zo...<span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Tana River Delta is occupied predominantly by pastoral and farming communities that inhabit defined zones in the Delta. A study was undertaken to assess changes in the lifestyle of communities living in the Delta and its implications on livelihoods and conservation of natural resources. Literature review, household questionnaires, social and resource mapping, key informant interviews, village-based focus group discussion and structured observations were used to collect data. It was evident that the delta communities are aware </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">of the delta resources, their uses, utilization and best management options. Additionally, they were knowledgeable on the delta resources use by non-residents, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">the resultant conflicts and the food status in the community. They had a good understanding of the new food they would wish to have in their diets and the means of accessing them. Modernity has pushed the community to yearn for development (“Yearn for an Apple”) to access foods that other parts of the country are eating, with implications on livelihoods and conservation of Delta resources. Reversing degradation and enhancing the development of the Delta area require the involvement of all stakeholders, informing and seeking the consensus of decision-makers and the real users of the Tana delta. The Government has to provide overall security and development.</span></span>展开更多
Introduction:An evergreen shrub,Prosopis juliflora is one of the most invasive species in arid and semi-arid areas.Since its introduction to the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia,it has invaded a huge acreage of grass-and...Introduction:An evergreen shrub,Prosopis juliflora is one of the most invasive species in arid and semi-arid areas.Since its introduction to the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia,it has invaded a huge acreage of grass-and rangelands which are life-supporting unit for Afar pastoralists.Methods:Survey,using group discussion and questionnaire,was made to study the effect of P.juliflora invasion on Afar pastoral livelihoods.The obtained data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test,chi-square analysis,and logistic regression.Results:According to the result,84%of the total surveyed households rated P.juliflora as undesirable species even though the bush was often used for fuelwood,fencing homesteads,and barn and house construction.Invasion of P.juliflora was also blamed to limit transhumance,occupying settlement areas and affecting multipurpose trees/bushes and grass availability.All these effects put pressure on the livestock assets causing about 80%livestock loss,testing the pastoral livelihoods heavily.Each household,on average,lost 6.5 small stock and 7 cattle during the past 10 years due to health hazards caused by P.juliflora pod.Consequently,P.juliflora as a source of income was considered by a quarter of the surveyed pastoral households,with the age of a household head and change in livestock asset being influential variables in decision-making.Conclusions:In sum,P.juliflora invasion has made livestock rearing extremely difficult which raised pastoralists’ecological vulnerability in the fragile ecosystem they possess.展开更多
The main grassland plain of Nech Sar National Park(NSNP)is a federally managed protected area in Ethiopia designated to protect endemic and endangered species.However,like other national parks in Ethiopia,the park has...The main grassland plain of Nech Sar National Park(NSNP)is a federally managed protected area in Ethiopia designated to protect endemic and endangered species.However,like other national parks in Ethiopia,the park has experienced significant land cover change over the past few decades.Indeed,the livelihoods of local populations in such developing countries are entirely dependent upon natural resources and,as a result,both direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures have been placed on natural parks.While previous research has looked at land cover change in the region,these studies have not been spatially explicit and,as a result,knowledge gaps in identifying systematic transitions continue to exist.This study seeks to quantify the spatial extent and land cover change trends in NSNP,identify the strong signal transitions,and identify and quantify the location of determinants of change.To this end,the author classifies panchromatic aerial photographs in 1986,multispectral SPOT imagery in 2005,and Sentinel imagery in 2019.The spatial extent and trends of land cover change analysis between these time periods were conducted.The strong signal transitions were systematically identified and quantified.Then,the basic driving forces of the change were identified.The locations of these transitions were also identified and quantified using the spatially explicit statistical model.The analysis revealed that over the past three decades(1986–2019),nearly 52%of the study area experienced clear landscape change,out of which the net change and swap change attributed to 39%and 13%,respectively.The conversion of woody vegetation to grassland(~5%),subsequently grassland-to-open-overgrazed land(28.26%),and restoration of woody vegetation(0.76%)and grassland(0.72%)from riverine forest and open-overgrazed land,respectively,were found to be the fully systematic transitions whereas the rest transitions were recorded either partly systematic or random transitions.The location of these most systematic land cover transitions identified through the spatially explicit statistical modeling showed drivers due to biophysical conditions,accessibility,and urban/market expansions,coupled with successive government policies for biodiversity management,geo-politics,demographic,and socioeconomic factors.These findings provide important insights into biodiversity loss,land degradation,and ecosystem disruption.Therefore,the model for predicted probability generally suggests a 0.75 km and 0.72 km buffers which are likely to protect forest and grassland from conversion to grassland and open-overgrazed land,respectively.展开更多
Background:Human brucellosis is prevalent in both rural and urban Uganda,yet most cases of the disease in humans go unnoticed and untreated because of inaccurate diagnosis,which is often due to the disease not manifes...Background:Human brucellosis is prevalent in both rural and urban Uganda,yet most cases of the disease in humans go unnoticed and untreated because of inaccurate diagnosis,which is often due to the disease not manifesting in any symptoms.This study was undertaken to describe trends in laboratory-confirmed human brucellosis cases at three health facilities in pastoralist communities in South-western,Uganda.Methods:Data were collected retrospectively to describe trends of brucellosis over a 10-year period(2003–2012),and supplemented with a prospective study,which was conducted from January to December 2013.Two public health facilities and a private clinic that have diagnostic laboratories were selected for these studies.Annual prevalence was calculated and linearly plotted to observe trends of the disease at the health facilities.A modified Poisson regression model was used to estimate the risk ratio(RR)and 95%confidence intervals(CIs)to determine the association between brucellosis and independent variables using the robust error variance.Results:A total of 9,177 persons with suspected brucellosis were identified in the retrospective study,of which 1,318(14.4%)were confirmed cases.Brucellosis cases peaked during the months of April and June,as observed in nearly all of the years of the study,while the most noticeable annual increase(11–23%)was observed from 2010 to 2012.In the prospective study,there were 610 suspected patients at two public health facilities.Of these,194(31.8%)were positive for brucellosis.Respondents aged 45–60 years(RR=0.50;CI:0.29–0.84)and those that tested positive for typhoid(RR=0.68;CI:0.52–0.89)were less likely to have brucellosis.Conclusions:With the noticeable increase in prevalence from 2010 to 2012,diagnosis of both brucellosis and typhoid is important for early detection,and for raising public awareness on methods for preventing brucellosis in this setting.展开更多
Background:Directly observed treatment,short-course(DOTS)is the current mainstay to control tuberculosis(TB)worldwide.Context-specific adaptations of DOTS have impending implications in the fight against TB.In Ethiopi...Background:Directly observed treatment,short-course(DOTS)is the current mainstay to control tuberculosis(TB)worldwide.Context-specific adaptations of DOTS have impending implications in the fight against TB.In Ethiopia,there is a national TB control programme with the goal to eliminate TB,but uneven distribution across lifestyle gradients remains a challenge.Notably,the mobile pastoralist communities in the country are disproportionately left uncovered.The aim of this study was to summarize the evidence base from published literature to guide TB control strategy for mobile pastoralist communities in Ethiopia.Main text:We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)guidelines and systematically reviewed articles in seven electronic databases:Excerptra Medical Database,African Journal Online,PubMed,Google Scholar,Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Direct,Cochrane Library and Web of Science.The databases were searched from inception to December 31,2018,with no language restriction.We screened 692 items of which 19 met our inclusion criteria.Using a meta-ethnographic method,we identified six themes:(i)pastoralism in Ethiopia;(ii)pastoralists’livelihood profile;(iii)pastoralists’service utilisation;(iv)pastoralists’knowledge and awareness on TB control services;(v)challenges of TB control in pastoral settings;and(vi)equity disparities affecting pastoralists.Our interpretation triangulates the results across all included studies and shows that TB control activities observed in pastoralist regions of Ethiopia are far fewer than elsewhere in the country.Conclusions:This systematic review and meta-synthesis shows that TB control in Ethiopia does not align well with the pastoralist lifestyle.Inaccessibility and lack of acceptability of TB care are the key bottlenecks to pastoralist TB service provision.Targeting these two parameters holds promise to enhance effectiveness of an intervention.展开更多
This study was conducted in the Banni region of the Gujarat State,India,which is located in the western-most end of the country.The main objective was to investigate the local perceptions of grassland change,regenerat...This study was conducted in the Banni region of the Gujarat State,India,which is located in the western-most end of the country.The main objective was to investigate the local perceptions of grassland change,regeneration potentiality,socio-economic status and fac-tors that cause degradation of the vegetation resources in Banni.Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA)was employed to generate the socio-economic profile of interviewed villages or hamlets.Information on vegetation deteriora-tion and changes in species composition significant for sustainable management of grassland was obtained through interviews with 51 elderly maldharies(pastoral-ists)and local inhabitants living in 31 villages in Banni.Local people had observed a change in the local surrounding habitats from grassland to woodland(domi-nated by Prosopis juliflora,locally called Gando Bavar)during their lifetime and considered it primarily a result of frequent intensive drought,constructed dams on flooding rivers in Banni,and declining rainfall.The socio-economic survey showed that the Banni communities are highly dependent on the natural grassland for various purposes.In particular,nine woody species were useful for construction of the traditional house called Bhunga,four for medicine and 22 for livestock fodder.Highly preferred and declining species were characteristically large wild thorny trees with edible fruits,viz.Acacia nilotica subsp.indica(Bavar),Prosopis cineraria(Kandho),and Salvadora persica(Kharijar).Some of the locally highly preferred grass species were also considered to be declining in the local environs;they included Dichanthium annulatum(Jinjvo),Cenchrus ciliaris(Dhaman),Sporobolus fertilis(Khevai)and Chloris barbata(Siyarpuchha).The study furthermore identified a close coincidence between the interest in conserving tree species diversity nearby the natural water resources and priorities of local inhabitants,which included protection of plenty of large trees(including many fruit tress,viz.Mangifera indicia(Ambo),Cordia dichotoma(Gunda)and Pithecellobium dulce(Gora-samli)),improvement of woody fodder tree and grass species regeneration,and reduction of overgrazing pres-sure on grasslands.Focusing management strategies on increasing the populations of such declining and highly preferred tree and grass species,by active restoration and grazing policies,would enhance the natural resource value and biodiversity wealth considerably and thereby the quality of life for the local inhabitants.The implications of the results are discussed and recommendations are suggested for conservation,management,and sustainable utilization of the fragile grassland ecosystem of the Banni region.展开更多
基金funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB138806)the International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2013DFR30760)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (70933004)
文摘Vegetation characteristics of pastoralist households’ pastures at different economic levels were quantiifed to compare the grassland conditions in Sunite Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, China in 2011 and 2012. The results showed that the heights of Stipa klemenzis and Cleistogenes songorica were similar among economic treatments. And the height of Allium polyrhizm had no signiifcant differences between high-economic-level （HEL） and low-economic-level （LEL） treatments. There were no signiifcant difference among treatments in the canopy cover of C. songorica. The densities of dominant species （S. klemenzis, C. songorica and A. polyrhizm） were signiifcantly similar among treatments. Aboveground community biomass in reference area （CK） was higher than that in other three treatments in 2011, but their biomass showed no signiifcant difference among three economic treatments;for 2012, biomass in HEL was higher than low-economic-level treatment （LEL）, while the biomass in middle-economic-level treatment （MEL） and CK was similar to that in HEL and LEL, respectively. Aboveground biomass of S. klemenzis and C. songorica was similar among treatments in both 2011 and 2012. Biomass of A. polyrhizum had no signiifcant difference between HEL and MEL. Households of LEL had rented out excess lands and those of HEL had leased their available lands thus resulting uniform utilization and convergence of pastoralist households’ pastures across all economic levels.
文摘A mobile portal is an internet gateway that provides online services primarily accessed via mobiles and other handheld devices. Mobile portals are part of web 3.0 that is starting to revolutionize online services. Such portals can help pastoralists in Kenya access essential information and marketing services online. The aim of the study was to design and implement a mobile portal that will help Kenyan pastoralists improve their yields. The study adopted systems development life cycle (SDLC) methodology to design, implement and test the portal and used structured interviews and observation to collect user requirements. The portal was coded in J2ME, JSP and SQL languages and developed using Java Development Kit (JDK), Sun Wireless Toolkit, Lightweight User Interface Toolkit (LWUIT), Struts, Tomcat and MySQL. The outcome of the study was the mobile portal successfully developed, tested and deployed.
文摘Farmer-pastoralist conflicts represent a significant challenge for rural communities and the Tanzanian government.The study objectives were to(i)determine existing forms of conflicts and(ii)identify drivers underlying resource use conflicts.The manuscript is based on a study that adopted a cross-sectional research design whereby data were collected from 373 randomly selected respondents from Kilosa and Kiteto districts,Tanzania,while primary data were collected through interviews,observations and focus group discussions,secondary data were gathered from government reports and newspapers.Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science(SPSS)version 20.0.Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out for quantitative data.Factor analysis was used to extract component factors on drivers and forms of conflicts,whereas content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.Generally,study results show that there were three main forms of conflict namely farmers versus pastoralists over village boundaries;farmers versus pastoralists over livestock routes and farmers versus farmers over the land.In addition,four main drivers underlying resource use conflicts were identified namely crop damage by livestock;inefficiency of government officials in taking action to diffuse conflicts;excessively large herds of cattle and corruption.It is therefore recommended that pastoralists should be provided with essential services such as water in order to minimize movement of their livestock herds from their designated villages to other areas in search of water.This would,in the long run,minimise crop damage which has been a major source of conflict.In addition,proper land use planning is recommended to minimize resource use conflicts.
文摘Climate change is a global phenomenon that involves the long-term fluctuation of the earth’s climate system. Specifically, climate change is acknowledged as a vital challenge to pastoralist production systems. However, limited research attention was given to exploring the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies in the southeastern part of Ethiopia. Thus, the study tried to assess the predictors of pastoralists’ climate change adaptation strategies in the Korahey zone of Ethiopia. The study was based on a survey of 215 representative pastoralist households were randomly selected from the three districts of the Korahey zone. To achieve the objective, household questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data at the household as well as the district level. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics like percentage, frequency, mean, and inferential statistics (multinomial logit model). Multinomial logit was employed to analyze the determinant factors of pastoralists’ adaptation strategies to climate change. The finding shows that household pastoralists adopt different climate change adaptation strategies in their locality;from this herd diversification (10.7%), storage of fodder (14.4%), mobility (23.7%), Livestock off-take (12%), saving scheme (8.8%) and household and herd splitting (15.3%) are the major pastoralists’ adaptation strategies to climate change in the study area. The results of the multinomial logit model show that sex, age, family size, access to climate information, access to credit services, access to extension services and livestock ownership were identified as the major determinants factors of climate change adaptation strategies in Korahey zone. The study recommended that the local government, planners and decision-makers should give awareness regarding the role of information in the pastoralists’ adoption of climate change adaptation strategies and enhance extension services to support pastoralists in their adaptation efforts.
文摘Mobile pastoralist communities in Sahel countries have serious problems of access to social services. Classic strategies for social services were always based on a single sector, focused on settled populations, and hardly reached mobile communities. This paper aims to show a cross-sector approach as a part of solutions to provide social services for mobile pastoralist communities and describes the ongoing scaling-up process. The method used is based on a transdisciplinary approach which involves target communities and authorities in all processes through workshops and site visits. Interventions adopted the concept of ＂one health＂ benefiting of an added value of closer cooperation between human and animal health. This approach was tested with joint interventions between human and animal health, which provided access to health services for unreached communities and saved resource when compared with single sector intervention. Such approaches could be extended to other social services within cross-sector interventions such as the delivery of basic education in nomadic areas. Such a strategy was validated by the communities and authorities and was further transformed into a national programme after a series of six national stakeholders＇ seminars. The cross-sector intervention will provide a minimum package of services （MPS） without compromising the structural services.
文摘Land use conflicts are complex disputes that contribute at large in terms of negative social and economic impacts within the heterogeneous societies.The mechanisms of success for land use conflict resolution still need further research because of various mindsets of the people.In this paper,the issues of land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania mainland which could lead to low economic development are reviewed and the general causes and effects of land use conflicts are outlined.Poor land governance,inappropriate of land use plans,inadequate land policies,land tenure insecurity,corruption and population increases are cited as being among of the main offenders fuelling land use conflicts in Tanzania.
文摘Introduction:Community perception plays a significant role in rangeland resource management.Traditional rangeland management practices by the pastoral communities are based on accumulated knowledge in connection to their local environment.Pastoralism played a vital role in food production and sustaining its inhabitants in arid environment for millennia.However,national policies and development interventions in East African pastoral systems have often overlooked pastoralism while centered on the modernization of agricultural sector for economic development and poverty reduction.Methods:We used household survey,focus group discussion,key informant interview,and individual questionnaire to understand the perceptions and attitude of Afar pastoralists towards rangeland resource use and conservation practices,as well as impacts of development intervention on traditional rangeland resource use and conservation practices.The data were analyzed using index ranking and descriptive statistics.Results:The results showed that livestock holding per household was higher on average(22.90±2.27 Tropical Livestock Unit(TLU))in the non-intervened woreda than in the intervened woreda(8.30±3.85 TLU).Respondents mentioned that livestock productivity was adversely affected by a number of factors such as invasion of Prosopis juliflora(Dergi Hara),shrinkage in the capacity of rangelands(Beadu and Bebea’),and recurrent droughts.Scarcity of grazing resources attributed to the invasion of Dergi Hara and drought created livestock feed crisis with strong implication on the livelihood of pastoralists.Our results showed that the traditional resource management practices such as mobility,herd splitting,and diversification had a role to contribute to the improvement of rangeland management and conservation of biodiversity.Traditional rules and seasonal-based grazing patterns of riversides during drought were perceived as key elements for rangeland resource management and conservation of rangeland resources in the study area.Conclusions:Communities’perception showed that the traditional practices of rangeland management systems are effective and environmentally sustainable.In contrast,inappropriate development interventions put rangelands under severe pressure.Although development interventions were aimed at improving the condition of Afar rangeland,they could not bring any enduring solution in terms of improvement of rangeland resources.
文摘Contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia （CBPP） is one of the endemic and life-threatening livestock diseases in the arid and semi-arid land areas （ASALs） of Kenya, which justify the case for the control of livestock diseases to avoid the spread of such diseases from the ASALs to the rest of the country, and a CBPP control quarantine line （CQL） that to help prevent the spread of CBPP from the ASALs of North-eastern Kenya to the rest of the country has been in existence since the colonial （pre-1963） times in Kenya. However, the livestock keepers in the ASALs view the CQL as an impediment to their main source of livelihoods because it entails livestock movement restrictions, thus constraining unfettered livestock marketing. Available literature shows that there is a dearth of information on the economics of livestock diseases control in Kenya in terms of its impacts on social welfare. Employing the CQL as a case study, this study shows that an application of analytic techniques that combine disease risk analysis and conventional cost-benefit modelling that incorporates some aspects that are specific to livestock diseases and their control strategies can generate indices of economic impacts of livestock diseases control on social welfare. The study finds that the livestock keepers and traders in Kenya do not consider CBPP a major problem to warrant livestock movement restrictions, yet the official records of the veterinary authorities indicate that CBPP is a major threat to the cattle industry in Kenya. Annually, the government spends substantial resources on the CQL operation and maintenance and also on CBPP surveillance and monitoring to contain the CBPP menace in Kenya. This study shows that such expenditures are economically and socially justifiable. Nevertheless, the study finds some operational inefficiencies in the enforcement of the CQL requirements. The authors, therefore, undertake an evaluation of alternative CBPP control strategies and conclude that it would be more cost effective to shift the CQL from its current location to the international borders of the arid districts, provided that this action is preceded by adequate CBPP control preparatory measures, as described in the paper.
文摘A survey to identify constraints and design strategies to improve the camel milk and meat value chains was conducted in northern Kenya using Participatory Integrated Community Development （PICD）, Focus Group Discussions （FGD）, among other methods. In a second step, field testing of an intervention on milk and meat hygiene was carried out at household level. Survey results indicated that about 50% of marketable camel milk was not sold, 30% of marketed camel milk per annum was sold in sour state at US$ 0.13 lower that the price of a litre of fresh milk while processed meat got spoiled along the chain. Annual economic losses associated with milk spoilage were estimated at US$ 961,538.5. Preliminary findings of the field testing indicated that an additional 3 million litres of camel milk was sold in fresh state, giving an annual saving of US$ 384,615.4. Increased profitability of up to 60% compared to 30% before the intervention was reported among nyirinyiri processors. In conclusion, economic potential of the camel could be fully exploited by facilitating adoption of interventions such as hygiene, among others at all levels of the camel milk and meat value chains.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571051)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in Lanzhou University (lzujbky-2015-150)
文摘China has made efforts to protect wild yak （Bos mutus） species and prevent the hybrids between wild yak and domestic yak （Bos grunniens） species.At present,wild yak population of a reasonable estimate would be over 70,000.Due to conservation efforts in environmental protection and ecological construction such as the Wildlife Protection and Nature Reserve Construction Project,the ＂Grain-for-Green＂ Project and the Natural Forest Resources Protection Project,the number of wild yaks is increasing.In general,Tibetan Plateau＇s ecosystem is getting better and its environmental quality shows a gradual improving trend.Tibetan Plateau is one of the world＇s cleanest regions called as the ＂Third Pole＂.In order to preserve the genetic pool of wild yaks,local pastoralists and polices drive off the wild male yaks from the domestic yak herds by making noise （banging washbasins,pots,etc.） or driving cars.Local government also incentivizes the culling of domestic yaks found in wild herds.For the sake of the biological and genetic features of this wild species,and the pastoralist way of life,wild yaks should continuously be protected to keep their genetic integrity.We appeal plans to investigate the gene pollution of wild yaks in some important distribution regions of this species.In the face of hybridizing with domestic yaks,proper guidance is urgently needed to address genetic pollution and protect the genetic integrity of wild yaks.
基金Funding for this research was provided by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2010CB 951704)
文摘The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production per capita(physical capital),and areas of fenced pasture,livestock shelter,grassland rodent control and planted grassland(physical capital) as proxy indicators of livelihood promotion,livelihood provision,and livelihood protection respectively.By developing a correlation model between pastoralists' livelihood protection and improvement,we found that(1) there is a statistically significant correlation between the pastoralists' livelihood protection and promotion;(2) based on the maximum effect of pastoralists' livelihood promotion and provision,there is a benchmark in the effect of the intervention intensity of livelihood capital(grassland resource protection) on livelihood improvement;(3) on basis of two indicators,i.e.net income per capita and meat production per capita,the reasonable scales of fenced pasture,livestock shelter and planted grassland are less than 843,860 and 46 thousand hectares(hm2) per year respectively.With the marginal effect of livelihood protection,moderately decreased areas of fenced pasture and planted grassland,and increased area of livestock shelter is a critical to ensure pastoralist's livelihood sustainability.
基金a Yunnan Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Bureau Post-Doctoral GrantChinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative grant[grant number 2020FYC0003]+1 种基金the National Sciences Foundation China[grant number 41661144001]the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences[grant number QYZDY-SSW-SMC014].
文摘For plant populations to persist,seedling recruitment is essential,requiring seed germination,seedling survival and growth.Drought and grazing potentially reduce seedling recruitment via increased mortality and reduced growth.We studied these seederelated processes for two species indigenous to the Pamir Mountains of Xinjiang in northwestern China:Saussurea glacialis and Plantago lessingii.Seeds collected from Taxkorgan,Xinjiang,had a viability rate of 15.8%for S.glacialis but 100%for P.lessingii.Of the viable seeds,the highest germination rates were 62.9%for S.glacialis and 45.6%for P.lessingii.In a greenhouse experiment,we imposed a series of stressful conditions,involving a combination of simulated grazing and drought events.These had the most severe impact on younger seedlings.Modelling showed that 89%of S.glacialis mortality was due to early simulated grazing,whereas 80%of P.lessingii mortality was due to early simulated drought.Physiological differences could contribute to their differing resilience.S.glacialis may rely on water storage in leaves to survive drought events,but showed no shifts in biomass allocation that would improve grazing tolerance.P.lessingii appears more reliant on its root system to survive grazing,but the root reserves of younger plants could be insufficient to grow deeper in response to drought.After applying all mortality factors,17.7 seedlings/parent of P.lessingii survived,while only<0.1 seedlings/parent of S.glacialis survived,raising concerns for its capacity to persist in the Pamirs.Inherent genetic differences may underlie the two species’contrasting grazing and drought responses.Thus,differing conservation strategies are required for their utilization and protection.
文摘Drastic changes have occurred in Siti zone rangeland over nearly the last three decades, due to rapid land conversion dynamics in the area. In the zone, the land-use change over time and space and temporal trends rangeland condition have never been studied. This study analyzed land use and land cover (LULC) change dynamics since the 1980s. Three dates, 1985, 2001 and 2017, Landsat images were used for classification and analysis of the various LULC. The three images were geo-referenced, re-sampled and processed for classification, using the maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. Moreover, field observations and information from local people were used for triangulation to patterns LULC dynamics. From 1985 to 2017, the general trend observed in the land use/cover change in the rangeland resources in the study districts implies a loss of grassland cover was compensated by an increase in cultivated areas, settlement and shrub/bush land cover. Moreover, the encroachments of invasive plant, Prosopis, settlement and the promotion of cultivation to pastoral way of livelihood have exacerbated the decline of rangeland cover. The study findings have shown important changes in the LULC patterns in the north-eastern Somali rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. These trends are certainly the characteristics of a pastoral way of life turn to settlement. This suggests that major changes in the socio-ecological driving forces affecting landscape dynamics have occurred in the last three decades or so.
文摘Climate change has adverse effects on household food security and on poverty alleviation among pastoralists. This study used unique household-level data from 415 pastoral households from three sub-counties—of Narok County in Kenya to identify the major determinants of their decision to select different community-based adaptation strategies to impacts of climate change. The results from a logit model indicated that the household head characteristics (gender, education (secondary and university level), marital status, and the main occupation), socio-economic and institutional factors (access to credit, access to water, and access to climate related information) were important in enhancing the adoption of the adaptation strategies to impacts of climate change. Therefore, to enhance the resilience of pastoral communities to impacts of climate change, policies that incorporate indigenous knowledge, promote community-led adaptation, enhance effective and appropriate dissemination of climate-related information at the local level and those that provide access to relevant institutions should be formulated. In addition, livestock off-take schemes, and framework needs to be set through the establishment of effective and efficient livestock markets specifically in the pastoral areas in order to cushion pastoralist from deepening into food insecurity and poverty during the occurrences of extreme climate events.
文摘<span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Tana River Delta is occupied predominantly by pastoral and farming communities that inhabit defined zones in the Delta. A study was undertaken to assess changes in the lifestyle of communities living in the Delta and its implications on livelihoods and conservation of natural resources. Literature review, household questionnaires, social and resource mapping, key informant interviews, village-based focus group discussion and structured observations were used to collect data. It was evident that the delta communities are aware </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">of the delta resources, their uses, utilization and best management options. Additionally, they were knowledgeable on the delta resources use by non-residents, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">the resultant conflicts and the food status in the community. They had a good understanding of the new food they would wish to have in their diets and the means of accessing them. Modernity has pushed the community to yearn for development (“Yearn for an Apple”) to access foods that other parts of the country are eating, with implications on livelihoods and conservation of Delta resources. Reversing degradation and enhancing the development of the Delta area require the involvement of all stakeholders, informing and seeking the consensus of decision-makers and the real users of the Tana delta. The Government has to provide overall security and development.</span></span>
文摘Introduction:An evergreen shrub,Prosopis juliflora is one of the most invasive species in arid and semi-arid areas.Since its introduction to the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia,it has invaded a huge acreage of grass-and rangelands which are life-supporting unit for Afar pastoralists.Methods:Survey,using group discussion and questionnaire,was made to study the effect of P.juliflora invasion on Afar pastoral livelihoods.The obtained data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test,chi-square analysis,and logistic regression.Results:According to the result,84%of the total surveyed households rated P.juliflora as undesirable species even though the bush was often used for fuelwood,fencing homesteads,and barn and house construction.Invasion of P.juliflora was also blamed to limit transhumance,occupying settlement areas and affecting multipurpose trees/bushes and grass availability.All these effects put pressure on the livestock assets causing about 80%livestock loss,testing the pastoral livelihoods heavily.Each household,on average,lost 6.5 small stock and 7 cattle during the past 10 years due to health hazards caused by P.juliflora pod.Consequently,P.juliflora as a source of income was considered by a quarter of the surveyed pastoral households,with the age of a household head and change in livestock asset being influential variables in decision-making.Conclusions:In sum,P.juliflora invasion has made livestock rearing extremely difficult which raised pastoralists’ecological vulnerability in the fragile ecosystem they possess.
文摘The main grassland plain of Nech Sar National Park(NSNP)is a federally managed protected area in Ethiopia designated to protect endemic and endangered species.However,like other national parks in Ethiopia,the park has experienced significant land cover change over the past few decades.Indeed,the livelihoods of local populations in such developing countries are entirely dependent upon natural resources and,as a result,both direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures have been placed on natural parks.While previous research has looked at land cover change in the region,these studies have not been spatially explicit and,as a result,knowledge gaps in identifying systematic transitions continue to exist.This study seeks to quantify the spatial extent and land cover change trends in NSNP,identify the strong signal transitions,and identify and quantify the location of determinants of change.To this end,the author classifies panchromatic aerial photographs in 1986,multispectral SPOT imagery in 2005,and Sentinel imagery in 2019.The spatial extent and trends of land cover change analysis between these time periods were conducted.The strong signal transitions were systematically identified and quantified.Then,the basic driving forces of the change were identified.The locations of these transitions were also identified and quantified using the spatially explicit statistical model.The analysis revealed that over the past three decades(1986–2019),nearly 52%of the study area experienced clear landscape change,out of which the net change and swap change attributed to 39%and 13%,respectively.The conversion of woody vegetation to grassland(~5%),subsequently grassland-to-open-overgrazed land(28.26%),and restoration of woody vegetation(0.76%)and grassland(0.72%)from riverine forest and open-overgrazed land,respectively,were found to be the fully systematic transitions whereas the rest transitions were recorded either partly systematic or random transitions.The location of these most systematic land cover transitions identified through the spatially explicit statistical modeling showed drivers due to biophysical conditions,accessibility,and urban/market expansions,coupled with successive government policies for biodiversity management,geo-politics,demographic,and socioeconomic factors.These findings provide important insights into biodiversity loss,land degradation,and ecosystem disruption.Therefore,the model for predicted probability generally suggests a 0.75 km and 0.72 km buffers which are likely to protect forest and grassland from conversion to grassland and open-overgrazed land,respectively.
基金The authors are grateful for the financial support from the International Development Research Centre(IDRC),Canada,and the participating laboratories for granting access to the records.
文摘Background:Human brucellosis is prevalent in both rural and urban Uganda,yet most cases of the disease in humans go unnoticed and untreated because of inaccurate diagnosis,which is often due to the disease not manifesting in any symptoms.This study was undertaken to describe trends in laboratory-confirmed human brucellosis cases at three health facilities in pastoralist communities in South-western,Uganda.Methods:Data were collected retrospectively to describe trends of brucellosis over a 10-year period(2003–2012),and supplemented with a prospective study,which was conducted from January to December 2013.Two public health facilities and a private clinic that have diagnostic laboratories were selected for these studies.Annual prevalence was calculated and linearly plotted to observe trends of the disease at the health facilities.A modified Poisson regression model was used to estimate the risk ratio(RR)and 95%confidence intervals(CIs)to determine the association between brucellosis and independent variables using the robust error variance.Results:A total of 9,177 persons with suspected brucellosis were identified in the retrospective study,of which 1,318(14.4%)were confirmed cases.Brucellosis cases peaked during the months of April and June,as observed in nearly all of the years of the study,while the most noticeable annual increase(11–23%)was observed from 2010 to 2012.In the prospective study,there were 610 suspected patients at two public health facilities.Of these,194(31.8%)were positive for brucellosis.Respondents aged 45–60 years(RR=0.50;CI:0.29–0.84)and those that tested positive for typhoid(RR=0.68;CI:0.52–0.89)were less likely to have brucellosis.Conclusions:With the noticeable increase in prevalence from 2010 to 2012,diagnosis of both brucellosis and typhoid is important for early detection,and for raising public awareness on methods for preventing brucellosis in this setting.
文摘Background:Directly observed treatment,short-course(DOTS)is the current mainstay to control tuberculosis(TB)worldwide.Context-specific adaptations of DOTS have impending implications in the fight against TB.In Ethiopia,there is a national TB control programme with the goal to eliminate TB,but uneven distribution across lifestyle gradients remains a challenge.Notably,the mobile pastoralist communities in the country are disproportionately left uncovered.The aim of this study was to summarize the evidence base from published literature to guide TB control strategy for mobile pastoralist communities in Ethiopia.Main text:We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)guidelines and systematically reviewed articles in seven electronic databases:Excerptra Medical Database,African Journal Online,PubMed,Google Scholar,Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Direct,Cochrane Library and Web of Science.The databases were searched from inception to December 31,2018,with no language restriction.We screened 692 items of which 19 met our inclusion criteria.Using a meta-ethnographic method,we identified six themes:(i)pastoralism in Ethiopia;(ii)pastoralists’livelihood profile;(iii)pastoralists’service utilisation;(iv)pastoralists’knowledge and awareness on TB control services;(v)challenges of TB control in pastoral settings;and(vi)equity disparities affecting pastoralists.Our interpretation triangulates the results across all included studies and shows that TB control activities observed in pastoralist regions of Ethiopia are far fewer than elsewhere in the country.Conclusions:This systematic review and meta-synthesis shows that TB control in Ethiopia does not align well with the pastoralist lifestyle.Inaccessibility and lack of acceptability of TB care are the key bottlenecks to pastoralist TB service provision.Targeting these two parameters holds promise to enhance effectiveness of an intervention.
文摘This study was conducted in the Banni region of the Gujarat State,India,which is located in the western-most end of the country.The main objective was to investigate the local perceptions of grassland change,regeneration potentiality,socio-economic status and fac-tors that cause degradation of the vegetation resources in Banni.Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA)was employed to generate the socio-economic profile of interviewed villages or hamlets.Information on vegetation deteriora-tion and changes in species composition significant for sustainable management of grassland was obtained through interviews with 51 elderly maldharies(pastoral-ists)and local inhabitants living in 31 villages in Banni.Local people had observed a change in the local surrounding habitats from grassland to woodland(domi-nated by Prosopis juliflora,locally called Gando Bavar)during their lifetime and considered it primarily a result of frequent intensive drought,constructed dams on flooding rivers in Banni,and declining rainfall.The socio-economic survey showed that the Banni communities are highly dependent on the natural grassland for various purposes.In particular,nine woody species were useful for construction of the traditional house called Bhunga,four for medicine and 22 for livestock fodder.Highly preferred and declining species were characteristically large wild thorny trees with edible fruits,viz.Acacia nilotica subsp.indica(Bavar),Prosopis cineraria(Kandho),and Salvadora persica(Kharijar).Some of the locally highly preferred grass species were also considered to be declining in the local environs;they included Dichanthium annulatum(Jinjvo),Cenchrus ciliaris(Dhaman),Sporobolus fertilis(Khevai)and Chloris barbata(Siyarpuchha).The study furthermore identified a close coincidence between the interest in conserving tree species diversity nearby the natural water resources and priorities of local inhabitants,which included protection of plenty of large trees(including many fruit tress,viz.Mangifera indicia(Ambo),Cordia dichotoma(Gunda)and Pithecellobium dulce(Gora-samli)),improvement of woody fodder tree and grass species regeneration,and reduction of overgrazing pres-sure on grasslands.Focusing management strategies on increasing the populations of such declining and highly preferred tree and grass species,by active restoration and grazing policies,would enhance the natural resource value and biodiversity wealth considerably and thereby the quality of life for the local inhabitants.The implications of the results are discussed and recommendations are suggested for conservation,management,and sustainable utilization of the fragile grassland ecosystem of the Banni region.
