Coastal management in Tanga, Tanzania: a decentralized community-based approach

This paper describes a new initiative in coastal management in northeastern Tanzania. The region is within the equatorial part of the Western Indian Ocean. The priority environmental issues being faced include declining fish catches, use of destructive fishing techniques, mangrove cutting and coastal erosion. There is a widespread perception among the users of the coastal resources that management of these issues is inadequate. This programme initiative is developing flexible, community-based approaches to identifying the problems and to take achievable actions. The programme provides training in a wide range of skills and appropriate technical methods for government officials, extension workers and villagers. A collaborative process is evolving that includes participatory appraisals, village environmental committees, facilitation by government extension workers, technical advise and supervision by district technical teams, and regional-wide workshops with key players. Village initiatives taken so far include new by-laws, gear inspection, reef zoning and closures. A number of village mariculture projects are being piloted.     

Spatial variability of factors influencing coastal change in the Western Canadian Arctic

Coastal change in the western Canadian Arctic is influenced by coastal morphology, relative sea-level trend and sea-ice and storm climates. The spatial variability of these factors tends to follow general east–west trends suggesting similar trends in coastal erosion hazard, processes and rates of coastal change. The spatial variability in the causes of coastal change is examined in the communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Sachs Harbour, Holman and Kugluktuk.     

Coupling parameters of the MIT OBS at two nearshore sites

A model representing the coupling of an ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) to the seafloor as a mass-spring-dashpot system satisfactorily explains the results of transient tests performed on different instruments during the Lopez Island intercomparison test. In this paper, we compare the results obtained for the MIT OBS at Lopez Island to results from similar tests at a dockside site at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vertical instrument response at the Lopez Island site shows a highly damped resonance at a frequency of 22 Hz, whereas the response at the Woods Hole site shows a marked resonance at 13 Hz. The difference between the responses at the two sites can be qualitatively attributed to the difference between the surficial sediments.     

Shallow Water Dissipation Processes for Wind Waves off the Mackenzie Delta

This study focuses on two physical processes for waves in shallow waters off the Mackenzie Delta: bottom friction and depth-induced breaking terms. We use field observations of winds and waves, the state-of-the-art Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model, and reanalysis wind and wave data. The two field observation periods are an August 2008 field experiment, during which in situ field data were collected, and an Arctic storm when data were recorded by buoy measurements from 4 to 6 August 1991. Wind and wave development processes are analyzed during these two periods with comparisons to observed winds and waves. Our analyses show that bottom friction is the main shallow water physical process during the August 2008 field experiment, whereas depth-induced breaking is the dominant shallow water physical process during the 4–6 August 1991 storm, in conjunction with the effects of bottom friction. The SWAN wave model is used to investigate the shallow water physical processes during these two observation periods. Simulation results indicate that the model can give reasonable results, with an appropriate Collins coefficient of 0.006 and a wave breaking parameter of 0.55 to represent bottom friction and depth-induced breaking physics, respectively.

RÉSUMÉ?[Traduit par la rédaction] Cette étude porte sur deux processus physiques concernant les vagues dans les eaux peu profondes au large du delta du Mackenzie : les termes du frottement contre le fond et du déferlement lié à la profondeur. Nous utilisons des observations du vent et des vagues, le modèle d'avant-garde SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore) et des données de vent et de vagues réanalysées. Les deux périodes d'observations sont une expérience sur le terrain réalisée en août 2008, au cours de laquelle des données de terrain ont été recueillies, et une tempête arctique lors de laquelle des mesures faites par bouée du 4 au 6 août 1991 ont été enregistrées. Nous analysons les processus dévolution du vent et des vagues durant ces deux périodes, et comparons avec le vent et les vagues observées. Nos analyses montrent que le frottement contre le fond est le processus physique en eaux peu profondes le plus important durant l'expérience sur le terrain d'août 2008, alors que le déferlement lié à la profondeur est le processus physique en eaux peu profondes dominant pendant la tempête arctique du 4 au 6 août 1991, en combinaison avec les effets du frottement contre le fond. Nous nous servons du modèle de vagues SWAN pour étudier les processus physiques en eaux peu profondes durant ces deux périodes d'observations. Les résultats des simulations indiquent que le modèle peut donner des résultats raisonnables, avec un coefficient de Collins approprié de 0,006 et un paramètre de déferlement de 0,55 pour représenter la physique du frottement contre le fond et du déferlement lié à la profondeur, respectivement.     

Lessons learnt from a collaborative management programme in coastal Tanzania

The Tanga Coastal Zone Conservation and Development Programme, initiated in 1994, was among the first such projects to make livelihoods improvement a key objective, and to use a community-based approach. It developed an approach to coastal management planning that is broadly satisfactory to both communities and the government. Six fisheries management areas and two mangrove management areas were established. Institutional arrangements for the collaborative approach were strengthened and community leaders and local government officers were trained in a range of relevant skills. A coastal environmental education programme for primary schools involved several thousand schoolchildren, and a gender programme built the confidence of women. Implementation of the management measures was noticeably harder than planning, particularly elimination of destructive fishing methods. Fishers and coastal communities now however have a much greater involvement in, and understanding of, coastal management and consequently a greater sense of ownership.     

Genetic Interpretation of the Textural–Structural Appearance of Early Permian Sylvinite Rocks in the Caspian Basin

Lithology and Mineral Resources - The paper presents the results of studying sylvinite rocks of the Lower Permian halogenic formation in the West and East Perelyub sites with perspectives for the...