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Environment

Volume XIV |

Rainfall deficit and excess within Oltenia region, Romania (1961-2020)

Abstract: Temporary rainfall deficit and excess impact both the natural environment and economic activities. Although rainfall does not display significant upward or downward trends in Central and Eastern Europe, global warming is expected to increase variability and associated risks. Thus, determining the annual and seasonal deviations of precipitation amounts at local scale is important in order to establish accurate trends of precipitation deficit and excess. We used 60-year time series (1961-2020) for 15 meteorological stations and a shorter series for one station (i.e., Slatina). The Standardized Precipitation Anomaly (SPA) indicates a predominance of normal years (32-50%), followed by dry and humid years, without an obvious latitudinal and altitudinal differentiation, while De Martonne aridity index (IaDM) emphasizes a latitudinal pattern: predominance of semi-humid years in the southern plain area, humid years in the northern plain area and the Getic Piedmont, very humid years in the Subcarpathians and extremely humid years in the mountains. Water deficit (IsDM < 20mm/°C) mainly affects the plain area during summer and autumn (50-60% of the seasons are arid and semiarid), but also the piedmont, where the share varies between 30 and 35%. Mann-Kendall (MK) test reveals the same pattern for annual values, namely, predominantly negative trends (statistically significant in the southwestern part of the region), which indicate an increase of both aridity and drought, including the higher hilly and mountain area. At seasonal level, autumn is the only period with positive, but not statistically significant trends, while in winter, spring and summer, trends are negative and statistically significant at certain stations. Consequently, drought-associated risks are projected to increase in the near future.

Volume XIV |

Applying impervious indices using Sentinel-2 data in semi-arid land (North-East Algeria)

Abstract: The urban area estimation in dry and semi-dry climate, is still a difficult. Therefore, identify a reliable impervious index is critical. For that reason, Ain Azel city that located in semi-arid land of North-East Algeria, was the area of test of three impervious indices, namely: the Built-up Area Index (BAI), the Normalized Impervious Surface Index (NISI) and the Urban Area Index (UAI). These indices were derived from Sentinel-2 data and subjected to the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification method, to extract built-up area class. The accuracy assessment results showed that the Overall accuracy (Oa) of the NISI index achieved 92,67 %, which is a little less compared to the (Oa) of UAI index which is about 93.67 %. Based on this, the both indices provided satisfactory result, although the UAI index, relatively, overestimated the built-up area. However, the BAI index that use the Blue and Near-Infrared bands is sufficiently discriminative between highly similar of buildings materials and dry soil; the BAI index produced the accurate built-up mapping with well detection of road networks with (Oa) achieved 95.67% and the highest kappa coefficient which is about 86.54 %. This is due to BAI band’s degree of sensitivity and their high spatial resolution of 10 m. Consequently, the SVM segmentation-based BAI index worked well and the result is promising for accurate modeling of cities with same environment condition, for its sustainable development. However, the performance level evaluation of indices applied in this study, should be retested over different regions in dry land.

Volume XIV |

Peasant perception of the importance of forests and local strategies for protecting forest spaces. Case study Central-West region of Burkina Faso

Abstract: Forest resources are subjected to various pressures that threaten their existence. This necessitates the development of a management policy to enhance their sustainability. The objective of this study was to contribute to the development of a sustainable forest management policy based on endogenous practices. Data were collected from 201 households living near these forests through survey questionnaires. The chi-square statistical test was used to determine the relationship between each sociodemographic variable and their perception of forest-related issues, and the Kramer’s V contingency coefficient was used to evaluate the intensity of this relationship. The results of these analyses provided a range of indicators of the importance of the studied forests as perceived by peasants, with the most significant factors being flora and fauna conservation and improvement of rainfall. Furthermore, the results revealed relationships between peasant perception and certain sociodemographic variables, ranging from weak to strong levels. Additionally, this study highlights strategies such as self-awareness, individual plantations within concessions, and the maintenance of forest firebreaks undertaken by these households to protect the forests they live nearby. One limitation of this study is the lack of investigation into the effectiveness of these strategies proposed by the residents of the studied forests. Therefore, it is recommended that the forest authorities conduct a study to assess the effectiveness of these strategies, which would lead to the popularization of proven approaches.

Volume XXIII |

Tsunami evacuation modelling for region capacity evaluation in Panimbang, Pandeglang Regency, Indonesia

Abstract: Panimbang sub-district, located in the subduction zone of the Indo-Australian plate and directly facing Mount Anak Krakatau, is highly vulnerable to tsunami hazards. The region’s geographic location and its coastal topography make it particularly susceptible to the devastating impacts of tsunamis. This study assesses the region’s preparedness to manage tsunami risks using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to model evacuation routes and estimate potential inundation areas. The research evaluates the effectiveness of the region’s evacuation capacity, considering critical factors such as population distribution, land cover, and the time required for residents to evacuate safely.
The study’s findings indicate that 74.91% of the 512.73 hectares of residential area in Panimbang is at significant risk of tsunami impact, potentially affecting approximately 38,723 people. This high level of exposure underscores the urgent need for tailored evacuation strategies, particularly in densely populated areas, to minimize the risk of casualties. The analysis also highlights the importance of enhancing infrastructure and disaster preparedness plans to increase the resilience of communities most vulnerable to tsunami threats. The research provides valuable insights into the critical elements of tsunami disaster management. It can serve as a crucial reference for future studies focused on improving evacuation routes, shelter planning, and other essential aspects of critical infrastructure. By addressing these areas, future efforts can more effectively safeguard the population in tsunami-prone regions, ensuring a more efficient and organized disaster response that significantly reduces the potential for loss of life and property.

Volume XXIII |

Struggles over critical land in the Nigerian Benue Valley: accumulation by dispossession and farmer-herder conflict

Abstract: Conflicts between farmers and pastoralists have had devastating consequences in Nigeria’s Benue Valley. While previous studies have emphasized environmental resource scarcity arising from population growth, environmental degradation, and climate change as the main sources of scarcity engendering conflicts, the social production of scarcity through accumulation by dispossession has received limited attention. This paper fills that gap by investigating the farmer-herder conflicts in the Benue Valley and highlighting how scarcity of critical land is socially produced through capitalist accumulation by dispossession. This scarcity leads to tensions between pastoralists and farmers, underscoring the relevance of accumulation by dispossession in this specific context.