An Overview of Hydropower and Biomass Use in Mozambique

Mozambique is doing well in its implementation of renewable energies (green energies), and this is a positive move as it sees to the protection of the environment, reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases, and the reduction of the country’s reliance on foreign fuels which are expensive and an economic burden on a country with an extremely high poverty index in Africa. Green energies like hydropower, solar energy and biomass are already in use with biomass leading, followed by hydropower. This paper explores and analyses the use of hydropower and biomass in Mozambique with the focus being on the extent of their use in the country and the impacts associated with their use. It also aims to look at policies that have been implemented to promote the use of these renewable sources of energy, and it discusses the success of the implementation of these policies and if they have helped in making the use of biomass and hydropower sustainable. The environmental impact of the use of green energies is minimum if compared to fossil fuels but this paper aims to show that there is concern in their use, especially the use of Biomass as there is little consideration being given to its environmental footprint. Mozambique has great potential for hydropower and bioenergy, but potential does not depict the reality as there are several issues to consider before the implementation of such in a developing country like Mozambique and this work explores the existence of issues that affect or hinder the growth and the sustainability of the use Biomass and Hydropower, and this is crucial in policy revision and implementation.

减少海洋航运环境排放的新方法

Maritime shipping is a strategic sector with a strong international vocation and management.The need to define regulations valid for many different countries without generating disparities of treatment slowed down the formulation of environmental regulations,especially for atmospheric emissions.In particular,regulations pertaining to the reduction of sulphur compounds allowed two distinct approaches:the use of low-sulphur fuels or exhaust gas cleaning systems,the so-called Scrubbers.The actual implementation of these solutions presents specific concerns either related to the toxicity of atmospheric by-products and to the fuel cost or to the generation of polluting washwaters that may need treatment before discharge.In this paper we analyzed the potential environmental benefit deriving from the use of a distillate fuel,not compliant with current IMO Sulphur Regulations,together with a Scrubber.The pilot-scale experimental results indicated that a limited amount of water and/or scrubber volume is needed to reduce sulphur emissions below regulations on maritime shipping,especially with the addition of NaOH reaching a water-saving between 25%-33%compared to the use of pure seawater.Experiments indicated that scrubber washwater PAHs emissions are within the available water quality standards indicated by EU and USA guidelines.A bottom-up analysis on heavy metals concentration shed light on the prominent role of metal-parts corrosion on the washwater emissions.Taking into account for corrosion phenomena,the actual heavy metals concentration in the washwater deriving from scrubbing was normally below the water quality standards.

A WAY TO SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION THROUGH SCIENTIST−FARMER ENGAGEMENT

Feeding a large and growing population with scientifically sustainable food production is a major challenge globally,especially in smallholder-based agricultural production.Scientists have conducted a considerable theoretical research and technological innovation to synergistically achieve increased food production and reduced environmental impact.However,the potential and feasibility of synergistic smallholder-led agricultural production to achieve increased food production and environmental friendliness is not yet clear.Exploring the potential and feasibility of smallholders to synergistically achieve these two goals,this research collected survey data from 162 farmers implementing standard farming practices and 112 farmers engaged in Science and Technology Backyard(STB)in Quzhou County,Hebei Province,China.Grain yield,nitrogen use efficiency(NUE),greenhouse gas emissions(GHG),and emergy ecological footprint(EEF)of the wheat-maize cropping system dominated by smallholders were analyzed.The results showed smallholders in the STB group improved wheat and maize yields by about 13%and NUE by 20%,respectively.Also,a reduction of 23%in GHG emissions and 52%in EEF were simultaneously achieved in the wheat-maize cropping system.Compared with standard farming practices,75 kg·ha−1 nitrogen-based fertilizer was saved in the STB farmers.In summary,this study shifts the main perspective of research from scientists to smallholder,and uses a combination of greenhouse gas emission calculations,EEF and material flow analyses to demonstrate from multiple perspectives that agricultural systems under the leadership of smallholders can synergistically achieve high crop yields and low resource use and environmental impacts.The results of this study also show that the smallholder-led scientist-farmer collaborative model established by STB can fully exploit the initiative and potential,and that this collaborative model can be a successful strategy for smallholders as operators to achieve food security at low environmental impacts.The results of this study can provide useful evidence for a sustainable shift toward more sustainable agricultural production systems.