Obituaries

Helge Marcus Ingstad 1899–2001 By Kirsten A. Seaver
Francis William Carter 1938–2001 By David Turnock     

Reviews

Bppks reviewed:
Reginald Appleyard, (ed.) Emigration dynamics in developing countries. Vol. IV: the Arab region
Curt Meine and Richard L. Knight, (eds.) The Essential Aldo Leopold. Quotations and Commentaries
Jyoti Shankar Singh, Creating a New Consensus on Population
Walden Bello, Shea Cunningham and Li Kheng Poh, A Siamese Tragedy
Bart Makaske, Anastomosing Rivers: Forms, Processes and Sediments
Philip Micklin, Managing Water in Central Asia
Iwao Kobori and Michael H. Glantz, (eds.) Central Eurasian Water Crisis: Caspian, Aral, and Dead Seas
John R. Gold and George Revill, (eds.) Landscapes of Defence
Monica Trujillo Amado Ordonez and Carlos Hernandez, Risk Mapping and Local Capabilities: Lessons from Mexico and Central America
R. Dalton, H. Fox and P. Jones, Classic Landforms of the White Peak (second edition), Classic Landforms of the Dark Peak (second edition)
Tatyana Saiko, Environmental Crises: Geographical Case Studies in Post-Socialist Eurasia
F. Brouwer and P. Lowe, (eds.) CAP Regimes and the European Countryside
Andrew Goudie, The Human Impact on the Natural Environment (fifth edition)
Jean Radvanyi, La Nouvelle Russie (second edition)
John Vogler, The Global Commons: Environmental and Technological Governance (second edition)     

The Badia programme:: defining and overcoming constraints on sustainable development

Since 1992 research on the Badia Programme, in north-east Jordan, has begun the process of identifying constraints on development and is suggesting where developmental potential still exists. Still, there are no proven development options to set alongside the traditional pastoralism. Perhaps in the future, service industries will provide the main additional employment opportunities, especially those serving the needs of international trade to and from Iraq and further east.     

Pastoral mobility, sedentarization and accessibility of health services in the northeast Badia of Jordan

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has attempted to achieve ‘Health for All by the Year 2000’. However, this aim has been limited in its success and significant levels of poor health remain. The WHO concede this and have revised their slogan: ‘Health for All in the Twenty-First Century’. One of the central problems has been social and geographical inequity of development and, importantly, that health services are inaccessible to large segments of the population in many developing countries. To this end, the Jordanian government has attempted to improve accessibility in rural communities by providing an extensive network of basic rural health clinics. However, a significant factor impeding this goal has been that much of the population is dispersed and that many practise pastoral nomadism. This paper reviews the extent to which rural clinical services have been made accessible to the nomadic and sedentarizing population of the northeast Jordan Badia.     

Monitoring land use change in the Badia transition zone in Jordan using aerial photography and satellite imagery

Detection of land use change makes a valuable contribution to the planning and monitoring of drylands. Land use changes at four sites within the Badia transition zone of Jordan were investigated and quantified over the period from 1953 to 1992 using black and white aerial photographs and SPOT PAN satellite imagery digitally merged with Landsat TM. Land use interpretation was checked in the field, and analysed using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Results indicated that land use changes have altered the character of the selected study sites. The important land use changes were from rangeland to rain-fed cultivation, irrigated fields and urban settlements. The increased agricultural activity was reflected in the land use maps through the 39-year period with the appearance of irrigated fields between 1978 and 1992. The land use changes are mainly attributed to the high population growth rate in Jordan and in the Badia, socio-economic change amongst Beduoin and farmers, the land tenure system and to a minor extent environmental factors.     

A study on geology,geomorphology, hydrology,groundwater, and physical resources of the desertified Badia environment in Jordan towards sustainable development

This paper summarizes information on geomorphology and physical resources as a part of the Jordan Badia Research and Development Program. The research focused on the issue of the environment in arid lands as an aid to providing practical options for sustainable development, for the benefit not only of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but of other arid regions of the world. The research is significant in that there is a need to identify usable natural resources and establish a framework for their effective exploitation and management in a marginal, fragile environment, which is sensitive to change. Pressure for development of the Badia stems from the fact that the great majority of the population in Jordan is compressed into less than 10% of the country by environmental constraints. It is hoped that the Jordan Badia Research and Development Program will provide the required framework to ease current environmental pressures, encourage migration to the Badia, a sparsely populated region, and establish economically and ecologically self-supporting communities. This paper discusses the following areas that are related to the sustainable development of the Jordan Badia with special emphasis on the Safawi area in the northern Jordan Badia; geomorphology, including landform, processes, and hazards; geology and physical resources; hydrology; surface water and water engineering; and groundwater.