The proposed Tendaho Reservoir and Irrigation site is located at the center of the Afar Depression where the Main Ethiopian Rift(MER),the Red Sea Rift and the Gulf of Aden Rift join at the extensional triple junction....The proposed Tendaho Reservoir and Irrigation site is located at the center of the Afar Depression where the Main Ethiopian Rift(MER),the Red Sea Rift and the Gulf of Aden Rift join at the extensional triple junction.The entire irrigation scheme and the reservoir area lie within the Tendaho Graben and at the west horst of the Graben(Tendaho Goba’ad Dis-展开更多
The Afar depression is located at the junction among Red sea,Gulf of Aden and the East African Rifts.Tectonic and magmatic activities in Northern Afar have localized to approximately 60 km long, seismically and volcan...The Afar depression is located at the junction among Red sea,Gulf of Aden and the East African Rifts.Tectonic and magmatic activities in Northern Afar have localized to approximately 60 km long, seismically and volcanically active magmatic segments. In September 2005 a seismo-volcanic event of unprecedented scale and intensity took place along the Dabbahu magmatic segment.This activity展开更多
The Afar region in Ethiopia forms part of the East African Rift and represents the only volcanically and seismically active continental spreading centre on Earth.This unique natural laboratory is the subject of invest...The Afar region in Ethiopia forms part of the East African Rift and represents the only volcanically and seismically active continental spreading centre on Earth.This unique natural laboratory is the subject of investigation to understand the magmatism and geodynamics during the transition from continental rifting to the generation of new ocean floor.At the BGS we have applied an integrated展开更多
Telesurgery could offer hope for Kenya’s mounting cancer patients THERESA Shikuku,51,had been to all major hospitals in Kenya during her illness.She’d even sent a tissue sample to South Africa for tests.The results ...Telesurgery could offer hope for Kenya’s mounting cancer patients THERESA Shikuku,51,had been to all major hospitals in Kenya during her illness.She’d even sent a tissue sample to South Africa for tests.The results confirmed liposarcoma-a malignancy of fat cells in her abdomen.There was no treatment regime.Her death was just one of the 18,000 people who die annually because of cancer,according to the Committee on Health at the Kenya’s Parliament,in February 2011. Kenya has only five oncologists in public hospitals and these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
Introduction:Pastoral communities have a comprehensive knowledge of their environments.This knowledge was acquired through extensive observation of the local environment and continuous herding practices.Pastoralists’...Introduction:Pastoral communities have a comprehensive knowledge of their environments.This knowledge was acquired through extensive observation of the local environment and continuous herding practices.Pastoralists’wisdom about their local environment and adaptation strategies to climate change is essential for sustainable development.Thus,appreciation of pastoralists’knowledge about their environment is also important for the integration of indigenous knowledge with the proper application of scientific approach to fit with the prevailing ecological potential of pastoral areas.Methods:Data were collected using focus group discussions,key informant interviews,and in-depth interviews.The in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire that was administered to 100 household heads with the age of above 50 years old.Respondents were randomly drawn from selected Pastoralists Associations(PAs)of two study districts.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as the logit model.The logit model was used to analyze the different coping strategies of pastoralists to overcome the failure of rain during different seasons.This was done by complementing pastoralists’indigenous knowledge of time-series-based analysis across four seasons(Kerma,Gillal,Hagay,and Sugum)vs.the existing meteorological records.Forty years(from 1971 to 2011)of existing metrological data were used to compare the empirical evidence with pastoralists’perceptions.Results:Respondents mentioned that livestock number was the best indicator for evaluating rangeland condition in Afar region.The existing empirical evidence based on metrological data did not show any significant decline in precipitation for the last four decades between 1971 and 2011 as opposed to the perception of pastoralists where 80%of them reported a decline in precipitation.A one unit increase in labor force suggested about 16.1%decrease in the choice of livestock selling as coping strategy in Afar pastoral areas of North-East of Ethiopia.The non-intervened pastoral households had more preference(3.78%)to practice herd splitting than those pastoral households in the intervened district.Similarly,the non-intervened pastoral households had 4.43%more preference to use crop residue for livestock feeding than pastoral HHs in the intervened areas.Conclusions:Communities’perceptions showed that livestock number was the best indicator of rangeland condition in the study area.Afar pastoralists’observations with regard to temperature and precipitation trends over the last four decades greatly corresponded with the existing metrological-based empirical evidence.However,pastoralists’perception in terms of reduced precipitation was not confirmed by the meteorological-based data records for the short rainy season(SRS).Afar pastoralists’experience showed that the short rainy season was the best indicator for the occurrence of droughts as compared to other seasons in Afar.Our results suggest that most coping strategies are labor force demanding,and the situation worsens during the long rainy season(LRS).We suggest that differences in intervention between the study areas should not be overlooked as a policy tool in tackling the impact of climate change.展开更多
Packed into a Beijing cafe on November 5, 6,000 miles and 16 hours away from the U. S. presidential election, the crowd excitedly began counting down the seconds until Wes Coast polls closed: 10,9,8 Earlier voter surv...Packed into a Beijing cafe on November 5, 6,000 miles and 16 hours away from the U. S. presidential election, the crowd excitedly began counting down the seconds until Wes Coast polls closed: 10,9,8 Earlier voter surveys had shown Barack Obama would win California, Oregon and Washington by wide margins. Together with the states he had already won, these states would give him more than enough electoral votes. As soon as the countdown ended, up flashed on the TV screen: "Barack Obama Elected President."展开更多
The satellite accompanying Shenzhou 7 sends back more than 1,000 photos The BX-1 satellite that accompanied Shenzhou 7 on its historic mission last month has taken and sent back 1,000 photos of the third Chinese
文摘The proposed Tendaho Reservoir and Irrigation site is located at the center of the Afar Depression where the Main Ethiopian Rift(MER),the Red Sea Rift and the Gulf of Aden Rift join at the extensional triple junction.The entire irrigation scheme and the reservoir area lie within the Tendaho Graben and at the west horst of the Graben(Tendaho Goba’ad Dis-
文摘The Afar depression is located at the junction among Red sea,Gulf of Aden and the East African Rifts.Tectonic and magmatic activities in Northern Afar have localized to approximately 60 km long, seismically and volcanically active magmatic segments. In September 2005 a seismo-volcanic event of unprecedented scale and intensity took place along the Dabbahu magmatic segment.This activity
文摘The Afar region in Ethiopia forms part of the East African Rift and represents the only volcanically and seismically active continental spreading centre on Earth.This unique natural laboratory is the subject of investigation to understand the magmatism and geodynamics during the transition from continental rifting to the generation of new ocean floor.At the BGS we have applied an integrated
文摘Telesurgery could offer hope for Kenya’s mounting cancer patients THERESA Shikuku,51,had been to all major hospitals in Kenya during her illness.She’d even sent a tissue sample to South Africa for tests.The results confirmed liposarcoma-a malignancy of fat cells in her abdomen.There was no treatment regime.Her death was just one of the 18,000 people who die annually because of cancer,according to the Committee on Health at the Kenya’s Parliament,in February 2011. Kenya has only five oncologists in public hospitals and these
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Introduction:Pastoral communities have a comprehensive knowledge of their environments.This knowledge was acquired through extensive observation of the local environment and continuous herding practices.Pastoralists’wisdom about their local environment and adaptation strategies to climate change is essential for sustainable development.Thus,appreciation of pastoralists’knowledge about their environment is also important for the integration of indigenous knowledge with the proper application of scientific approach to fit with the prevailing ecological potential of pastoral areas.Methods:Data were collected using focus group discussions,key informant interviews,and in-depth interviews.The in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire that was administered to 100 household heads with the age of above 50 years old.Respondents were randomly drawn from selected Pastoralists Associations(PAs)of two study districts.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as the logit model.The logit model was used to analyze the different coping strategies of pastoralists to overcome the failure of rain during different seasons.This was done by complementing pastoralists’indigenous knowledge of time-series-based analysis across four seasons(Kerma,Gillal,Hagay,and Sugum)vs.the existing meteorological records.Forty years(from 1971 to 2011)of existing metrological data were used to compare the empirical evidence with pastoralists’perceptions.Results:Respondents mentioned that livestock number was the best indicator for evaluating rangeland condition in Afar region.The existing empirical evidence based on metrological data did not show any significant decline in precipitation for the last four decades between 1971 and 2011 as opposed to the perception of pastoralists where 80%of them reported a decline in precipitation.A one unit increase in labor force suggested about 16.1%decrease in the choice of livestock selling as coping strategy in Afar pastoral areas of North-East of Ethiopia.The non-intervened pastoral households had more preference(3.78%)to practice herd splitting than those pastoral households in the intervened district.Similarly,the non-intervened pastoral households had 4.43%more preference to use crop residue for livestock feeding than pastoral HHs in the intervened areas.Conclusions:Communities’perceptions showed that livestock number was the best indicator of rangeland condition in the study area.Afar pastoralists’observations with regard to temperature and precipitation trends over the last four decades greatly corresponded with the existing metrological-based empirical evidence.However,pastoralists’perception in terms of reduced precipitation was not confirmed by the meteorological-based data records for the short rainy season(SRS).Afar pastoralists’experience showed that the short rainy season was the best indicator for the occurrence of droughts as compared to other seasons in Afar.Our results suggest that most coping strategies are labor force demanding,and the situation worsens during the long rainy season(LRS).We suggest that differences in intervention between the study areas should not be overlooked as a policy tool in tackling the impact of climate change.
文摘Packed into a Beijing cafe on November 5, 6,000 miles and 16 hours away from the U. S. presidential election, the crowd excitedly began counting down the seconds until Wes Coast polls closed: 10,9,8 Earlier voter surveys had shown Barack Obama would win California, Oregon and Washington by wide margins. Together with the states he had already won, these states would give him more than enough electoral votes. As soon as the countdown ended, up flashed on the TV screen: "Barack Obama Elected President."
文摘The satellite accompanying Shenzhou 7 sends back more than 1,000 photos The BX-1 satellite that accompanied Shenzhou 7 on its historic mission last month has taken and sent back 1,000 photos of the third Chinese