Extraction of wood for fuel: a threat to landscape conservation in Nigeria.
Nigeria, a developing nation with the estimated population of 170 million people (Moghalu, 2013) has about half of this number residing in the rural areas where their effort towards the extraction of wood for fuel is highly recognized. Wood extraction for fuel is economical and serves as alternative to every other source of energy for cooking, parboiling of certain grains like rice, smelting, and smithing, among other things. This trend has gone beyond rural activities; rather, urban dwellers in Nigeria have joined. In their case, both dead and live woods were harvested, and in the newest approach, wood is reduced to charcoal and used for the same purpose. The magnitude of impact done on the landscape by this activity is what the local nationals are ignorant of and should be properly informed. Employing ethnographic techniques, this study investigated the diversified areas of wood extraction for fuel among Nigerians, the likely impact, and suggests the control and conservative measures through which the impacts can be mitigated. Keywords : Wood Extraction, Fuel, Threat, Landscape, Conservation, Landscape Conservation, Nigeria
A comprehensive approach to addressing drought and desertification in Nigeria
In the 1970s, the United Nations identified desertification as a global threat to environmental sustainability. While the concept of dryland degradation has long and always existed, desertification on the other hand implies the rapid spread of the degradation of vast land and its productivity throughout the world, notably in Africa and Asia. Modern desertification, as the case is in Nigeria, often arises from the demands of increased populations that settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals. The extent and severity of desertification in Nigeria has not been fully established neither has the rate of its progression been properly recognized. However, it is estimated that the country is currently losing about 351,000 hectares of its landmass to desert conditions annually, and such conditions are estimated to be advancing southwards at the rate of about 0.6km per year. Desertification, which is affecting the 11 northern states, is considered the most pressing environmental problem. The purpose of this study is to evaluate current government policies in addressing desertification and to offer new measures based on the findings of the study. The study has found out that the reasons for the failure of current government policies are numerous including the governmentâ€™s top-down approach, inconsistency of government policies, neglect of indigenous knowledge, use of inappropriate technology, sectoral approach, inadequate funding, inadequate awareness, etc. Having identified the causes of the problem, this study proposes new measures to combat desertification and mitigate the effect of drought in Nigeria.
Die Populationsdynamik Von Canthocampt Us Staphylinus (Jurine) (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) Im Litoral Des Bodensees
The population dynamics of Canthocamptus staphylinus in the littoral zone of Lake Constance are described (fig. 2). Adult animals aestivate as cysts. The main part of the population emerges from the cysts in autumn. During the resting stage and the first spell after emerging, mortality is very low (fig. 3). Reproduction, expressed as numbers of ovigerous females, begins in November and reaches its maximum in January. The new generation becomes adult in May/June and encysts without previous reproduction. According to Sarvala (1979) it may be possible, that in littoral populations dormancy is induced by long day periods and temperatures of over 12° C (figs. 1, 2). In the profundal zone C. staphylinus also forms cysts, however, both light and temperature are not likely to induce this stage in depths of over 60 m.