http://hdl.handle.net/10204/931 2013-05-26T02:54:23Z http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6742 Title: Environmental change in Bushbuckridge Authors: Erasmus, BFN; Coetzer, K; Mambo, J; Archer, E; Fisher, JT; Asner, GP Abstract: Bushbuck Ridge is a typical cultural landscape where the interdependency of people and the environment shape the savanna ecosystem goods and services upon which many people are dependent. The forced resettlement of people in the apartheid era, together with Mozambican refugees, have resulted in high human densities. The majority of people rely heavily on the rural rangelands for a variety of natural products, and the ability of these ecosystems to continue delivering these products under conditions of climate change and land cover change is in doubt. Historical trends show that settlements are expanding, with an increasing corresponding footprint around each village, where woodland resources are depleted. People can and do adapt to environmental change, but projecting current trends in the changes that we observe, combined with increased unpredictability of rainfall, threatens to decouple the age-old interdependencies in the this cultural landscape, and present inhabitants with conditions beyond their adaptation capacity. Description: Copyiright: Sun Media Publishing,Stellenbosch, South Africa 2011-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6741 Title: Sustainable water for rural security - A transdisciplinary approach Authors: Maherry, A; Genthe, B; Steyn, M; Clarke, S; Beukman, E; Audouin, M; Van Wyk, I; Wall, K Abstract: This abstract presents the work conductive by the CSIR project entitled Sustainable Water for Rural Security with the following aims: to link research disciplines within the CSIR which together can provide an appropriate science base to enable the provision of clean water to rural communities; to bridge the knowing-doing gap by carrying out research on integrated implementation in partnership with communities and implementing Agencies; to ensure the sustained and expanded impact of this action-research through effective transfer of knowledge and technologies; and to identify the critical design criteria that ensure sustainability of rural water supply systems in South Africa. Description: WISA 2012 Biennial Conference and Exhibition. Conference Proceedings, Cape Town International Convention Centre, 6-10 May 2012 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6737 Title: Health impact assessment of Solar Disinfection (SODIS) of drinking water in three African countries Authors: du Preez, M Abstract: Access to affordable, safe and sufficient quantities of water is fundamental to health and dignity of all humans. However, in 2006 an estimated 1.1 billion people still had no access to safe water and 2.6 billion lacked access to basic sanitation (UNICEF, 2010). An estimated 94% of the diarrhoeal burden of disease is attributable to the environment, and associated with risk factors such as unsafe drinking water, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene (Prüss-Üstün and Corvalán, 2006). Water contaminated with waterborne pathogens has a direct and profound negative effect on human health and consequently livelihoods, in the developed and developing world. The immediate adverse health effects of ingesting enteric waterborne pathogens mostly manifest in the form of diarrhoea. Globally diarrhoea ranks as the second largest cause of morbidity (UNICEF/WHO, 2009). One in five deaths in children is caused by diarrhoea bringing the number to a staggering 1.5 million children each year (UNICEF/WHO, 2009). Young children are impacted the most and for those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who have developed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), diarrhoea can be prolonged and severe and can ultimately cause death (USAID/BASIC, 2007). Solar disinfection (SODIS) refers to disinfection of water in transparent plastic bottles using sunlight. The effect of SODIS on diarrhoea in children was determined in South Africa (January, 2007 to December 2008), Kenya (July 2007 to March 2009) and Zimbabwe (June 2009 to November 2009). Based on information of census data and accessibility, peri-urban and rural areas with different socio-economic levels and water sources were selected as study areas. This thesis describes the rationale, methods and findings of the first scientific objective “Health impact assessments in three African countries.” The author was responsible for the overall coordination of the three African studies based on the protocol of the health impact assessments she developed during the proposal development phase. The health impact assessments were undertaken in South Africa by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and two non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Institute for Water and Sanitation Development (IWSD) in Zimbabwe and the International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering (ICROSS) in Kenya. Description: A thesis submitted to the Department of Physiology & Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6716 Title: The relationship between fog, floods, groundwater and tree growth along the lower Kuiseb River in the hyperarid Namib Authors: Schachtschneider, K; February, EC Abstract: There is a growing demand for increased water abstraction from ephemeral rivers such as the Kuiseb in western Namibia. Studies in the 1980.s recorded mortality rates of the most common riparian tree species in a prolonged drought from 1979 to 1984. These results show that mortality for the three species differed considerably with 16 % mortality for Acacia erioloba, 39 % for Faidherbia albida and 75 % for Tamarix usnoides. Here we determine the water sources and rooting strategy of three age groups of the three most common riparian tree species growing along the Kuiseb River using stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope analysis. We do this to better understand the relationship between germination and establishment of trees along river courses in hyperarid western Namibia. A secondary objective is to determine whether the mortality rates recorded in the drought in the 1980.s may be related to rooting strategy. We use a linear mixing model approach (IsoSource) to quantify probable contributions of multiple water sources to tree water uptake. Our results show that none of the tree species in this study use fog water. Rather, all of the trees are reliant on a seasonally fluctuating combination of groundwater, shallow soil water and deep soil water. All of these water sources are directly reliant on regular recharge from annual flood events. Our results also show that the mortality rates recorded in the early 1980.s need not necessarily relate to rooting depth or water source but that there may be a combination of possible causes including root growth and structure. If predictions for increased water abstraction and global climate change are realized then the vegetation structure along ephemeral river courses in Namibia will be seriously threatened. Description: Copyright: 2010 Elsevier. This is an ABSTRACT ONLY. The definitive version is published in Journal of Arid Environments, vol. 74(12), 1632-1637 2010-12-01T00:00:00Z