Article

Vulnerability of Al-hodidah wetlands in Yemen: main socio-economic causes

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  • Mohammed V University in Rabat - Institut Scientifique
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... In a similar study, the authors of [50] attributed the continued rise in water scarcity across Yemen to uncontrolled agricultural practices and the demographic changes propelled by rapid population increases. Overall, increased water deficits, droughts, and temperature increments have been reported by several studies across the country [51][52][53]. Of the 114 mm of mean annual rainfall received across the country, 108 mm, representing 94% of the influx, is lost back to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration (Figure 7). ...
... In a similar study, the authors of [50] attributed the continued rise in water scarcity across Yemen to uncontrolled agricultural practices and the demographic changes propelled by rapid population increases. Overall, increased water deficits, droughts, and temperature increments have been reported by several studies across the country [51][52][53]. ...
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Globally, climate change is triggering shifts in water availability, especially across arid and desert landscapes similar to that in Yemen, where precipitation patterns are increasingly erratic. Here, we use water budget calculations, drought metrics, and trend analyses to examine climatic water deficits, with the aim of unraveling irrigation demands and overall water stress across Yemen. The results indicate that 94% of the influx is lost back to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration, 6% is converted to runoff, and only a negligible amount, generally less than 1%, is retained as storage. The results also show an unrelenting, statistically significant water deficit increase of 0.17 mm yr −1 on the Sen's slope, at the critical Z-value of 0.005 across the country, for the past 63 years. Our findings challenge the conventional understanding of water deficits across Yemen and suggest that the country's water resources situation is direr than was earlier documented. Further results show that while the water shortage mosaic across the country experiences interannual variations, their occurrence is significantly intensifying. As such, an immediate and radical modernization of integrated water management systems, including concerted investments in irrigation and artificial recharge wells, especially across the Arabian Sea Coast, the Red Sea Coast, and the Highlands, is strongly recommended.
... Among the several human threats that intensify the impact are: the preservation of wetlands into cultivated and urban areas, as well as the construction of structures such as dams, roads, dykes, canals, among others. The intensification of these activities has also increased the water deficit as a climate change consequence in the last decades (Al-Mahfadi & Dakki, 2019;Lefebvre et al., 2019). ...
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Wetlands provide several ecological, biological, and environmental benefits, including their role in the hydrological cycle, especially in coastal areas. Coastal wetlands are affected by anthropogenic threats, as these are in constant synergy with local populations and agricultural expansion, which is one of the main factors causing their depletion. In addition, the ravages of climate change accentuate their vulnerability, which may lead to their irreparable loss. In this regard, the objective of this work was to identify the coastal wetlands of northern Peru and in order to verify the progress made in their conservation. For this purpose, a search was performed in wetlands atlas and similar studies, and a check was made to see if those wetlands had records of flora and fauna studies. Finally, information was sought on protection measures in the area. Consequently, 22 coastal wetlands were registered, and among them, three are internationally recognized as Ramsar sites: Mangroves of Tumbes, Mangrove of San Pedro de Vice, and the Virrilá Estuary, where commendable conservation efforts are underway. However, it was found that more than 77% of the coastal wetlands in northern Peru do not have preservation actions or scientific evidence describing their biodiversity.
... However, we expected that the rainfall at the catchment area plays also a determinant role in this classification, since it has a high incidence on the stream hydrology (not used in our case) and, consequently, on the estuary water regime and morphology. But this role seems to be dimmed by the high number of dams and intensive water diversion for agriculture, both in mountain and foothill courses Dakki 2019, which considerably reduce the flow in lower stream courses. Nevertheless, this role is likely integrated in the correlation between the estuarine and the catchment area sizes. ...
Article
A high number of wetlands were irreversibly lost in arid regions, mainly because their conservation raises the great conflict between maintaining wetland hydrology and satisfying water needs of the human population. In Yemen, as an arid developing country, the poor knowledge on wetlands is another challenge that faces their conservation. The present paper contributes to this knowledge by providing a preliminary classification of estuarine ecosystems in Yemen, using satellite data, which provide us with 15 physiographical descriptors of both estuaries, their catchment areas and sea waters. These data were extracted with GIS tools and treated with modern classification algorithms. Their treatment revealed six different types of estuaries, which are distinguished by three categories of descriptors (size and rock nature of both estuary and watershed and sea exposition). These categories confirm the significant influence of the watershed characteristics in shaping estuaries, whose influence has mainly been established during the pluvial Quaternary episodes. The sea characteristics (hydrodynamics and orography) are crucial in estuary classification; yet, despite the great effort deployed to get pertinent data, it was still difficult to find satellite descriptors of these two features. Therefore, the remote sensing has actually some limits in providing sea data for estuarine classification, which will be no longer exceeded with the increasing number of significant satellite data. Finally, we remind that the raw and compiled data gathered in this study constitute a preliminary inventory of the 451 Yemen estuaries, which is very useful for their knowledge and management.
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Defining and achieving sustainable development is a major issue for policy debates both in the developed and developing countries. Eco-tourism as an important niche market in the world tourism industry has been embraced by developing countries like Uganda, which are trying to use tourism as an engine of national development. It embraces environmental conservation, maintenance of biodiversity, a satisfying experience for the visitors, study and appreciation of nature and sustainable community development. Eco-tourism development is expected to achieve three major goals (3P) namely: Profits (economic), People (Social cultural benefits to communities and tourists) and Place (biodiversity conservation). Based on a research conducted in Sango Bay wetland of Rakai district in Uganda, this paper evaluates the socio-economic benefits of consumptive utilization practices of wetland resources, the recreation and Eco-tourism potential of the wetland, its sustainability and contribution to poverty reduction among the surrounding communities. Secondary data from diverse sources was used to complement primary data collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) questionnaires and Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques. The results indicate dominance of consumptive resource utilization practices and the failure to reduce poverty levels. The eco-system is rich in flora and fauna which are important for eco-tourism development. Potential eco-tourism projects, which can be introduced in the wetland for sustainable resource utilization and poverty reduction, are proposed.
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A multiple purpose wetland inventory is being developed and promoted through partnerships and specific analyses at different scales in response to past uncertainties and gaps in inventory coverage. A partnership approach is being promoted through the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands to enable a global inventory database to be compiled from individual projects and analyses using remote sensing and GIS. Individual projects that are currently part of this global effort are described. They include an analysis of the Ramsar sites' database to map the distribution of Ramsar sites across global ecoregions and to identify regions and wetland types that are under-represented in the database. Given the extent of wetland degradation globally, largely due to agricultural activities, specific attention is directed towards the usefulness of Earth Observation in providing information that can be used to more effectively manage wetlands. As an example, a further project using satellite data and GIS to quantify the condition of wetlands along the western coastline of Sri Lanka is described and trends in land use due to changes in agriculture, sedimentation and settlement patterns are outlined. At a regional scale, a project to map and assess, using remote sensing, individual wetlands used for agriculture in eight countries in southern Africa is also described. Land cover and the extent of inundation at each site is being determined from a multi-temporal data set of images as a base for further assessment of land use change. Integrated fully within these analyses is the development of local capacity to plan and undertake such analyses and in particular to relate the outcomes to wetland management and to compile data on the distribution, extent and condition of wetlands globally.
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The main purposes are to collate information of the region, to review marine systems and processes in the intertidal and shallow sublittoral parts of the Arabian seas, and to highlight human utilisation and environmental consequences. The first section presents the geological, geographical, climatic and oceanographic background to the area. The second section examines what is known of the region's marine communities, interpreting the relationships between the marine systems and physical conditions for: reefs and coral communities; coral reef fish assemblages; other reef components and processes; seaweeds and seasonality; seagrasses and other dynamic substrates; intertidal areas - mangal associated ecosystems, marshes, sabkha and beaches; and the pelagic system. The next section synthesizes and concludes the biogeographical material and interprets the effects of natural stress on the biota. The final section describes and discusses the human use and management of the region, including fisheries. -after Authors
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1.Wetland inventory, assessment and monitoring are widely recognized as essential tools for a range of purposes that underpin sound decision-making and the management of wetlands so as to maintain their ecological character, including the critical services they provide to people worldwide.2.In recognition of this, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has adopted a suite of tools designed for: (i) describing the ecological character of wetlands; (ii) assessing the pressures and associated risks of adverse change; and (iii) monitoring the extent of any change that occurs as a consequence of management actions.3.As a prelude to considering the application of Earth Observation techniques to wetlands a review of the needs and purposes of inventory, assessment and monitoring is provided and linked with the wetlands ‘toolkit’ that the Convention has developed. In particular the usefulness of Earth Observation for undertaking such work more widely, and making its results more accessible to users, is considered.4.As the wide typological, geographical and temporal variability of wetlands poses major challenges for inventory and assessment there have been many calls for the effective application of Earth Observation. In response a number of remote-sensing techniques have been developed or are being considered, such as the application of satellite-based radar, with more recent attention given to the application of long-wavelength (L-band) synthetic aperture radar.Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Article
The paper has attempted to place a value on wetlands for their role in reducing wind damage to property because of diminished storm intensities. The study estimated a storm wind damage function for the Louisiana gulf coast, where inland distance of a location and wetlands traversed by a hurricane were among the independent was made of the increase in expected wind damage to property from the loss of intervening wetlands. The discounted value of the loss of a one mile strip of wetlands along Louisiana's gulf coast was estimated to be between 1.1millionand1.1 million and 3.7 million in 1980 dollars, using discount rates of 8% and 3%, respectively. Although it may not be too meaningful to place this on a per acre basis, this increased cost of property damage amounted to between 7and7 and 23 per acre. In order to place this in perspective, the market value of Louisiana wetlands is under $200 per acre. This market value is derived primarily from the mineral and hunting rights accompanying the surface area.This hurricane protection value is only one of many pure or quasipublic goods produced by wetlands. In order to make decisions regarding costly projects designed to retard wetlands erosion, such as revegetation or sediment transfers; or to consider wetlands destroying developments, such as pipeline canal construction, the value of these public goods must be estimated. The current study adds to our knowledge of these values. The next stage in this line of research is to evaluate the benefits that wetlands provide by reducing storm tidal surge. Flood damages to low-lying coastal areas are considerably greater than wind damage, and wetlands areas may be more useful for flood protection to these areas than for reducing storm intensities. Unfortunately, establishing a flood damage function similar to the wind damage function used in this study is difficult since it must consider unique hydrologic features of affected coastal areas.
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