Local level rainfall and temperature variability in drought-prone districts of rural Sidama,central rift valley region of Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine local level spatiotemporal rainfall and temperature variability in drought-prone districts of rural Sidama, Central Rift Valley region of Ethiopia. The study used 129 gridded monthly rainfall and temperature data of 32 years (1983–2014). The gridded rainfall and temperature records were encoded into GIS software and evaluated through different statistical and geospatial techniques. Mann-Kendal rank test and F distribution tests were used to test temporal and spatial statistical significance, respectively, of the data. The analysis revealed that Belg and Kiremt are the main rainfall seasons, constituting 81% of the annual rainfall. Although annual, Kiremt, and Belg rainfall amounts appear to have decreased over time, the decreasing trend is statistically significant only for Belg rainfall records. On the other hand, rainfall standard anomaly results indicated seven droughts of different magnitudes: one extreme, two severe, and four moderate. The study also revealed increasing temperature trends over the years under consideration that are statistically significant. The findings of this study on rainfall contradict other findings obtained around the study area. Thus, climate change adaptations need to focus on location-specific climate data analysis so that the intended adaptive interventions can be successful.     

Managing sustainable farmed landscape through 'alternative' food networks: a case study from Italy

This paper focuses on a case study of an 'alternative' food network based in the Abruzzo National Park, Italy, to explore how ideas of sustainable farmland management can be expressed through broader understandings of developing networks of care concerned with local economies and societies, high-quality specialist food products, particular 'traditional' farming practices and livestock breeds, as well as the ecology of a farmed landscape. The scheme allows customers, internationally as well as in Italy, to 'adopt' a milking sheep on a large mountain farm. In return, adopters are sent food products from the farm. The adoption scheme is inter-twined with an agri-tourism project which provides accommodation, runs a restaurant and engages in educational activities. The scheme is the result of the individual initiative of its founder, and is associated with a strongly expressed ethical position concerning the value of sustaining valued local rural landscapes and lifestyles, and the importance of 'reconnecting' urban dwellers with rural areas, farming and 'quality' food production. Yet the localness of the scheme is sustained through wider national and international networks: volunteer and paid workers are drawn from several European countries, funding has been acquired from the EU LEADER programme, and internet and transport technologies are essential in connecting with and supplying an international customer base. The broader economy of care instanced in this case study draws attention to a need to develop strategies for sustainable farmland management constructed around wider programmes of social, economic and cultural, as well as environmental, concern.     

滇池农村固体废物和化肥流失治理试验研究

怎样合理处置农村固体废物和减少农田化肥流失一直是农村面源污染控制的难题之一。该研究将农村固体废物的处理与减少化肥施用措施有机结合，利用微生物复合发酵剂和农村固体废物生产活性肥料，开展了一系列农业种植试验和数据监测，在此基础上，提出了一套实用性强、效果好的控制农业固体废物和化肥流失污染的对策措施。     

Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies

Commercial alpine medicinal plants are collected from the wild by local rural households throughout the Himalaya and sold in order to increase household incomes. Recent studies indicate that this annual trade amounts to thousands of tonnes of roots, rhizomes, tubers, leaves, etc., worth millions of US dollars. The main market is in India. Based on a national survey, including the most commonly traded species, and a village study this paper investigates the importance of the alpine medicinal plant trade at national and local levels in Nepal. The national survey included standardized open-ended interviews with 232 harvesters, 64 local traders, 66 central wholesalers, 47 regional wholesalers, and 16 production companies. The village survey is based on the daily records of household activities in 15 households in a one-year period. The annual Nepalese alpine and sub-alpine medicinal plant trade is conservatively estimated to vary from 480 to 2500 t with a total harvester value of US$0.8–3.3 million; the average harvester value is estimated at US$66.0 ± 99.0. The trade in 1997/98 amounted to 1600 t with a harvester value of US$2.3 million and an export value equivalent to 2.5% of total export from Nepal. Medicinal plant harvesting was found to constitute an integrated part of local livelihood strategies, contributing from 3 to 44% (average of 12%) of the annual household income. Importance at household level depended on land and animal holdings, and the availability of adult male labour. The validity and reliability of methods and analyses is evaluated, and issues of conservation and management of alpine medicinal plant species under the community forestry scheme are discussed.     

洪泛平原农村居民地空间分布特征定量研究及应用探讨

通过对影响居民地空间分布因素的分析,探讨了洪泛平原农村居民地空间分布特征;利用地理信息系统技术对不同高程带内居民地分布规模、等级和空间分布密度作了定量研究,得到了居民地空间分布密度和人口空间分布密度参数;并结合洪灾淹没区居民地损失的估算,对研究结果的应用作了探讨。     

Minority women’s microenterprises in rural areas of the United States of America: African American,Hispanic American and Native American case studies

Women in many rural areas of the US often engage in small-scale businesses as one of several avenues for contributing to household incomes. In those geographical areas that contain a significant minority population, many of the women's businesses display the cultural diversity of the regions in which they live. Likewise, women's roles as economic providers as well as wives and mothers are reflected in the manner in which they operate their businesses. Candida Brush suggests that women's strategies for operating their businesses are highly integrative because women's business decisions are intertwined with familial responsibilities, household economic demands and desires to contribute to their communities. Hispanic and Native American women in the Four Corners region of southwestern US and African American women in central Virginia participated in interviews in which they responded to numerous short answer and open-ended questions about their businesses and decision-making strategies. From these interviews an image emerges of rural minority business women who are operating their businesses at the nexus of family obligations, economic necessities, cultural ties and with a commitment for serving their communities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Problems associated with tourism development in Southern Africa: The case of Transfrontier Conservation Areas

Tourism in Southern Africa is synonymous with the wildlife safari. In the post-colonial era the establishment of so-called ‘peaceparks’ that straddle the borders of states has come to be seen as a key not only to increasing tourism in the Southern African region, but also to the modernizing of conservation policies and the development of rural economies. This paper focuses on the global and continental presence of transfrontier conservation areas, the link between conservation and tourism development, and the current factors that constrain and influence the realization of an ‘African Dream’ — ‘establishment of the greatest animal kingdom’. The unstable political situation in Zimbabwe and how this negatively affects wildlife conservation and tourism in the Gonarezhou part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, serves as a case study. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN EL HATILLO, NICARAGUA: GENDER, NEOLIBERALISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK

El Hatillo is a rural community in the Sébaco valley in Nicaragua, which suffers from an eroding resource base, high levels of poverty and malnutrition, and a high susceptibility to hazards. Structural adjustment policies have been devastating for small and subsistence farmers and have increased the level of economic, social and environmental marginalisation in rural Nicaragua. This paper explores initiatives to promote sustainable development in Nicaragua in the context of structural adjustment and environmental degradation. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in El Hatillo, it outlines the ways in which women in this community are attempting to address the multiple challenges of rural poverty and environmental risk and considers the potential of these strategies for gender equality.     

数字技术力量下的乡村重构

随着数字技术逐渐深入到乡村生产生活的各个方面,乡村社会关系及空间意义发生重构。信息化冲击下的乡村空间转变不仅体现在物质方面,其社会文化空间意义及人地关系地域系统的重构在内生逻辑上重塑乡村话语权力和主体身份。论文通过探讨数字技术与乡村发展的多维关系及其对乡村产生的多重效应,关注数字技术带来的自由与异化、数字经济引发的话语与权力流变及乡村女性主体地位和身份的重构,解释了数字技术作为非人类行动者的主体性及其建构下的乡村日常经济生活和社会关系,拟为乡村性的分析框架提供有益的补充,为数字乡村建设和乡村振兴提供新的理论借鉴。