Search results for: mediterranean climate

Authors: Ali Cheshmehzangi, Ayotunde Dawodu

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In urban planning, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of the site plays a major role in the multiplicity of performances, from humane living environments to energy performance. When one considers the astounding volume of new housing that is going to be constructed across the globe during the next few decades due to growing urbanisation (e.g. particularly in developing world), it is imperative that we have an empirically grounded grasp of which building configurations are more energy efficient. As a common planning metric, it would be helpful to know exactly how managing FAR connects with energy efficiency. Hence, this study puts together a set of modelling of various FARs for a typical residential compound and address the considerations of energy planning integration in the practice of building configuration and urban planning. Such decision makings at the planning and design stage enable us to provide pathways of optimising urban climate at mesoscale of the built environment, i.e. the neighbourhood or community level. In this study, a comparative study is conducted using Eco-Tect Software, using a case study in the City of Ningbo, China. Findings of the study contribute to identifying scenarios of various FAR use and energy planning at mesoscale. The final results contribute to studies in urban climate, from the perspectives of urban planning, energy planning, and urban modelling.

Keywords: China, energy planning, FAR, floor-area-ratio, mesoscale, urban climate, urban modelling

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Authors: Tayib Bromand, Keisuke Sato

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This paper presents the introduction to current water balance and climate change assessment in the Kabul river basin. The historical and future impacts of climate change on different components of water resources and hydrology in the Kabul river basin. The eastern part of Afghanistan, the Kabul river basin was chosen due to rapid population growth and land degradation to quantify the potential influence of Gobal Climate Change on its hydrodynamic characteristics. Luck of observed meteorological data was the main limitation of present research, few existed precipitation stations in the plain area of Kabul basin selected to compare with TRMM precipitation records, the result has been evaluated satisfactory based on regression and normal ratio methods. So the TRMM daily precipitation and NCEP temperature data set applied in the SWAT model to evaluate water balance for 2008 to 2012. Middle of the twenty – first century (2064) selected as the target period to assess impacts of climate change on hydrology aspects in the Kabul river basin. For this purpose three emission scenarios, A2, A1B and B1 and four GCMs, such as MIROC 3.2 (Med), CGCM 3.1 (T47), GFDL-CM2.0 and CNRM-CM3 have been selected, to estimate the future initial conditions of the proposed model. The outputs of the model compared and calibrated based on (R2) satisfactory. The assessed hydrodynamic characteristics and precipitation pattern. The results show that there will be significant impacts on precipitation patter such as decreasing of snowfall in the mountainous area of the basin in the Winter season due to increasing of 2.9°C mean annual temperature and land degradation due to deforestation.

Keywords: climate change, emission scenarios, hydrological components, Kabul river basin, SWAT model

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Authors: Mathieu Hemono, Sophie Puig-Malet, Patrick Zylberman, Avner Bar-Hen, Rainer Sauerborn, Stefanie Schütte, Niamh Herlihi, Antoine Flahault et Anneliese Depoux

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Since the IPCC released its first report in 1990, an increasing number of peer-reviewed publications have reported the health risks associated with climate change. Although there is a large body of evidence supporting the association between climate change and poor health outcomes, the media is inconsistent in the attention it pays to the subject matter. This study aims to analyze the modalities and rhetoric in the media concerning the impact of climate change on health in order to better understand its role in information dissemination. A review was conducted of articles published between 1990 and 2015 in the francophone newspapers Le Monde and Jeune Afrique. A detailed search strategy including specific climate and health terminology was used to search the newspapers’ online databases. 1202 articles were identified as having referenced the terms climate change and health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to narrow the search to articles referencing the effects of climate change on human health and 160 articles were included in the final analysis. Data was extracted and categorized to create a structured database allowing for further investigation and analysis. The review indicated that although 66% of the selected newspaper articles reference scientific evidence of the impact of climate change on human health, the focus on the topic is limited major political events or is circumstances relating to public health crises. Main findings also include that among the many direct and indirect health outcomes, infectious diseases are the main health outcome highlighted in association with climate change. Lastly, the articles suggest that while developed countries have caused most of the greenhouse effect, the global south is more immediately affected. Overall, the reviewed articles reinforce the need for international cooperation in finding a solution to mitigate the effects of climate change on health. The manner in which scientific results are communicated and disseminated, impact individual and collective perceptions of the topic in the public sphere and affect political will to shape policy. The results of this analysis will underline the modalities of the rhetoric of transparency and provide the basis for a perception study of media discourses. This study is part of an interdisciplinary project called 4CHealth that confronts results of the research done on scientific, political and press literature to better understand how the knowledge on climate changes and health circulates within those different fields and whether and how it is translated to real world change.

Keywords: climate change, health, health impacts, communication, media, rhetoric, awareness, Global South, Africa

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Authors: Dina H. Gabr, Mona A. El Bannan

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With growing worldwide concern for global warming, green finance has become the fuel that pushes the world to act in combating and mitigating climate change. Coupled with adopting the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Green finance became a vital tool in creating a pathway to sustainable development, as it connects the financial world with environmental and societal benefits. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the concepts and definitions of green finance and the importance of 'green' impact investments today. The core challenge in combating climate change is reducing and controlling Greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, this study explores the solutions green finance provides putting emphasis on the use of renewable energy, which is necessary for enhancing the transition to the green economy. With increasing attention to the concept of green finance, multiple forms of green investments and financial tools have come to fruition; the most prominent are green bonds. The rise of green bonds, a debt market to finance climate solutions, provide a promising mechanism for sustainable finance. Following the review, this paper compiles a comprehensive green bond dataset, presenting a statistical study of the evolution of the green bonds market from its first appearance in 2006 until 2021.

Keywords: climate change, GHG emissions, green bonds, green finance, sustainable finance

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Authors: Stanislovas Buteliauskas, Aušrius Juozapavičius

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City road transport contributes significantly to climate change, and the ongoing world urbanization is only increasing the problem. The paper describes a city planning concept minimizing the number of vehicles on the roads while increasing overall mobility. This becomes possible by utilizing a recently invented two-level road junction with a unique property of serving both as an intersection of uninterrupted traffic and an easily accessible transport hub capable of accumulating private vehicles, and therefore becoming an especially effective park-and-ride solution, and a logistics or business center. Optimized layouts of city road infrastructure, living and work areas, and major roads are presented. The layouts are suitable both for the development of new cities as well as for the expansion of existing ones. Costs of the infrastructure and a positive impact on climate are evaluated in comparison to current city growth patterns.

Keywords: congestion, city infrastructure, park-and-ride, road junctions

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Authors: George N. Zaimes, Valasia Iakovoglou, Paschalis Koutalakis, Konstantinos Ioannou, Ioannis Kosmadakis, Panagiotis Tsardaklis, Theodoros Laopoulos

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The advancements in technology allow the development of a new system that can continuously measure surface soil erosion. Continuous soil erosion measurements are required in order to comprehend the erosional processes and propose effective and efficient conservation measures to mitigate surface erosion. Mitigating soil erosion, especially in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, is essential in order to maintain environmental and agricultural sustainability. In this paper, we present the Automated Soil Erosion Monitoring System (ASEMS) that measures surface soil erosion along with other factors that impact erosional process. Specifically, this system measures ground level changes (surface soil erosion), rainfall, air temperature, soil temperature and soil moisture. Another important innovation is that the data will be collected by remote communication. In addition, stakeholder’s awareness is a key factor to help reduce any environmental problem. The different dissemination activities that were utilized are described. The overall outcomes were the development of an innovative system that can measure erosion very accurately. These data from the system help study the process of erosion and find the best possible methods to reduce erosion. The dissemination activities enhance the stakeholder's and public's awareness on surface soil erosion problems and will lead to the adoption of more effective soil erosion conservation practices in Greece.

Keywords: soil management, climate change, new technologies, conservation practices

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Authors: Martial Amou

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This study was carried out to assess the situation of households’ livelihood under a changing climate pattern in the Zio district of Togo, West Africa. The study examined three important aspects: (i) assessment of households’ livelihood situation under a changing climate pattern, (ii) farmers’ perception and understanding of local climate change, (iii) determinants of adaptation strategies undertaken in cropping pattern to climate change. To this end, secondary sources of data, and survey data collected from 235 farmers in four villages in the study area were used. Adapted conceptual framework from Sustainable Livelihood Framework of DFID, two steps Binary Logistic Regression Model and descriptive statistics were used in this study as methodological approaches. Based on Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA), various factors revolving around the livelihoods of the rural community were grouped into social, natural, physical, human, and financial capital. Thus, the study came up that households’ livelihood situation represented by the overall livelihood index in the study area (34%) is below the standard average households’ livelihood security index (50%). The natural capital was found as the poorest asset (13%) and this will severely affect the sustainability of livelihood in the long run. The result from descriptive statistics and the first step regression (selection model) indicated that most of the farmers in the study area have clear understanding of climate change even though they do not have any idea about greenhouse gases as the main cause behind the issue. From the second step regression (output model) result, education, farming experience, access to credit, access to extension services, cropland size, membership of a social group, distance to the nearest input market, were found to be the significant determinants of adaptation measures undertaken in cropping pattern by farmers in the study area. Based on the result of this study, recommendations are made to farmers, policy makers, institutions, and development service providers in order to better target interventions which build, promote or facilitate the adoption of adaptation measures with potential to build resilience to climate change and then improve rural livelihood.

Keywords: climate change, rural livelihood, cropping pattern, adaptation, Zio District

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Authors: Dorota M. Michalak

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The agricultural sector, due to the growing demand for food and over-exploitation of the natural environment, contributes to the deepening of climate change, on the one hand, and on the other hand, shrinking freshwater resources, as a negative effect of climate change, threaten the food security of each country. Therefore, adaptation measures to climate change should take into account effective water management and seek solutions ensuring food production at an unchanged or higher level, while not burdening the environment and not contributing to the worsening of the negative consequences of climate change. The problems of Poland's water management result not only from relatively small, natural water resources but to a large extent on the low efficiency of their use. Appropriate agricultural practices and state solutions in this field can contribute to achieving significant benefits in terms of economical water management in agriculture, providing a greater amount of water that could also be used for other purposes, including for purposes related to environmental protection. The aim of the article is to determine the level of use of water resources in Polish agriculture and the advancement of measures aimed at adapting Polish agriculture in the field of water management to climate change. The study provides knowledge about Polish legal regulations and water management tools, the shaping of water policy of Polish agriculture against the background of EU countries and other sources of energy, and measures supporting Polish agricultural holdings in the effective management of water resources run by state budget institutions. In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, the author used research tools such as the analysis of existing sources and a survey conducted among five groups of entities, i.e. agricultural advisory centers and departments, agricultural, rural and environmental protection departments, regional water management boards, provincial agricultural chambers and restructuring and modernization of agriculture. The main conclusion of the analyses carried out is the low use of water in Polish agriculture in relation to other EU countries, other sources of intake in Poland, as well as irrigation. The analysis allows us to observe another problem, which is the lack of reporting and data collection, which is extremely important from the point of view of the effectiveness of adaptation measures to climate change. The results obtained from the survey indicate a very low level of support for government institutions in the implementation of adaptation measures to climate change and the water management of Polish farms. Some of the basic problems of the adaptation policy to change climate with regard to water management in Polish agriculture include a lack of knowledge regarding climate change, the possibilities of adapting, the available tools or ways to rationalize the use of water resources. It also refers to the lack of ordering procedures and the separation of responsibility with a proper territorial unit, non-functioning channels of information flow and practically low effects.

Keywords: water management, adaptation policy, agriculture, climate change

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Authors: Messay Mulugeta, Degefa Tolossa

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The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize trends of climate risks in eastern and southeastern parts of Ethiopia. This part of the country appears severely affected by recurrent droughts, erratic rainfall, and increasing temperature condition. Particularly, erratic rains and moisture stresses have been forcibly threatening and shoving the people over many decades coupled with unproductive policy frameworks and weak institutional setups. These menaces have been more severe in dry lowlands where rainfall is more erratic and scarce. Long-term climate data of nine weather stations in eastern and southeastern parts of Ethiopia were obtained from National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia (NMA). As issues related to climate risks are very intricate, different techniques and indices were applied to deal with the objectives of the study. It is concluded that erratic rainfall, moisture scarcity, and increasing temperature conditions have been the main challenges in eastern and southeastern Ethiopia. In fact, these risks can be eased by putting in place efficient and integrated rural development strategies, environmental rehabilitation plans of action in overworked areas, proper irrigation and water harvesting practices and well thought-out and genuine resettlement schemes.

Keywords: rainfall variability, erratic rains, precipitation concentration index (PCI), climatic pattern, Ethiopia

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Authors: Roozbeh Kardooni, Ahmad Hossein Meidari, Sumiani Binti Yusoff, Fatimah Binti Kari,

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The public opinion on environmental issue was analyzed by means of a survey implemented in Kedah located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia). This work explores public opinions regarding environmental issue such as climate change, green technology and renewable energy in Kedah. Probability sampling and a stratified technique were used to conduct a survey with subjects aged 20 years and over with higher education qualifications. The results shows that the level of concern regarding climate change in Kedah is high and majority of Kedah citizens are concerned about climate change and have heard about green technology. However, only 40% people in this city have used green products. The findings of this study also show that percent use of green products is highest among those who are familiar with such products. It is apparent from study finding that economic barriers and non-economic barriers both play a role in impeding the development of renewable energy policies in Kedah. This finding can be explained by the high price of renewable energy products, lack of knowledge about government policies, and ineffective programs and initiatives.

Keywords: public opinion, climate change, green technology, Kedah

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Authors: Aparna Radhakrishnan, Jancy Gupta, R. Dileepkumar

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This paper aims at assessing the Socio Economic Vulnerability (SEV) of dairy farmers to Climate Variability and Change (CVC) in 3 states of Western Ghat region in India. For this purpose, a composite SEV index has been developed on the basis of functional relationships amongst sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity using 30 indicators related to dairy farming underlying the principles of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Fussel framework for nomenclature of vulnerable situation. Household level data were collected through Participatory Rural Appraisal and personal interviews of 540 dairy farmers of nine taluks, three each from a district selected from Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, complemented by thirty years of gridded weather data. The data were normalized and then combined into three indices for sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity, which were then averaged with weights given using principal component analysis, to obtain the overall SEV index. Results indicated that the taluks of Western Ghats are vulnerable to CVC. The dairy farmers of Pulpally taluka were most vulnerable having the SEV score +1.24 and 42.66% farmers under high-level vulnerability category. Even though the taluks are geographically closer, there is wide variation in SEV components. Policies for incentivizing the ‘climate risk adaptation’ costs for small and marginal farmers and livelihood infrastructure for mitigating risks and promoting grass root level innovations are necessary to sustain dairy farming of the region.

Keywords: climate change, dairy, vulnerability, livelihoods, adaptation strategies

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Authors: Mahtsente Tadese, Lalit Kumar, Richard Koech

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The aim of this study was to project and analyze climate change in the Awash River Basin (ARB) using bias-corrected Global and Regional Climate Model simulations. The analysis included a baseline period from 1986-2005 and two future scenarios (the 2050s and 2070s) under two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Bias correction methods were evaluated using graphical and statistical methods. Following the evaluation of bias correction methods, the Distribution Mapping (DM) and Power Transformation (PT) were used for temperature and precipitation projection, respectively. The 2050s and 2070s RCP4 simulations showed an increase in precipitation during half of the months with 32 and 10%, respectively. Moreover, the 2050s and 2070s RCP8.5 simulation indicated a decrease in precipitation with 18 and 26%, respectively. The 2050s and 2070s RCP8.5 simulation indicated a significant decrease in precipitation in four of the months (February/March to May) with the highest decreasing rate of 34.7%. The 2050s and 2070s RCP4.5 simulation showed an increase of 0.48-2.6 °C in maximum temperature. In the case of RCP8.5, the increase rate reached 3.4 °C and 4.1 °C in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The changes in precipitation and temperature might worsen the water stress, flood, and drought in ARB. Moreover, the critical focus should be given to mitigation strategies and management options to reduce the negative impact. The findings of this study provide valuable information on future precipitation and temperature change in ARB, which will help in the planning and design of sustainable mitigation approaches in the basin.

Keywords: variability, climate change, Awash River Basin, precipitation

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Authors: Muhd. Barzani Gasim, Mohd. Ekhwan Toriman, Mohd. Khairul Amri Kamarudin, Azman Azid, Siti Humaira Haron, Muhammad Hafiz Md. Saad

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Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that constantly exposed to flooding and landslide. The disaster has caused some troubles such loss of property, loss of life and discomfort of people involved. This problem occurs as a result of climate change leading to increased stream flow rate as a result of disruption to regional hydrological cycles. The aim of the study is to determine hydrologic processes in the east coasts of Peninsular Malaysia, especially in Kelantan Basin. Parameterized to account for the spatial and temporal variability of basin characteristics and their responses to climate variability. For hydrological modeling of the basin, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model such as relief, soil type, and its use, and historical daily time series of climate and river flow rates are studied. The interpretation of Landsat map/land uses will be applied in this study. The combined of SWAT and climate models, the system will be predicted an increase in future scenario climate precipitation, increase in surface runoff, increase in recharge and increase in the total water yield. As a result, this model has successfully developed the basin analysis by demonstrating analyzing hydrographs visually, good estimates of minimum and maximum flows and severe floods observed during calibration and validation periods.

Keywords: east coasts of Peninsular Malaysia, Kelantan river basin, minimum and maximum flows, severe floods, SWAT model

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Authors: Khuram Nawaz Sadozai, Rizwan Ahmad, Munawar Raza Kazmi, Awais Habib

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Climate change and crop production are intrinsically associated with each other. Therefore, this research study is designed to assess the impact of climate change on pulses production in Southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province of Pakistan. Two pulses (i.e. chickpea and mung bean) were selected for this research study with respect to climate change. Climatic variables such as temperature, humidity and precipitation along with pulses production and area under cultivation of pulses were encompassed as the major variables of this study. Secondary data of climatic variables and crop variables for the period of thirty four years (1986-2020) were obtained from Pakistan Metrological Department and Agriculture Statistics of KP respectively. Panel data set of chickpea and mung bean crops was estimated separately. The analysis validate that both data sets were a balanced panel data. The Hausman specification test was run separately for both the panel data sets whose findings had suggested the fixed effect model can be deemed as an appropriate model for chickpea panel data, however random effect model was appropriate for estimation of the panel data of mung bean. Major findings confirm that maximum temperature is statistically significant for the chickpea yield. This implies if maximum temperature increases by 1 0C, it can enhance the chickpea yield by 0.0463 units. However, the impact of precipitation was reported insignificant. Furthermore, the humidity was statistically significant and has a positive association with chickpea yield. In case of mung bean the minimum temperature was significantly contributing in the yield of mung bean. This study concludes that temperature and humidity can significantly contribute to enhance the pulses yield. It is recommended that capacity building of pulses growers may be made to adapt the climate change strategies. Moreover, government may ensure the availability of climate change resistant varieties of pulses to encourage the pulses cultivation.

Keywords: climate change, pulses productivity, agriculture, Pakistan

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Authors: Lujain Khraiba

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Recently, there is a broad recognition that micro-climate conditions contribute to the quality of life in urban spaces outdoors, both from economical and social viewpoints. The consideration of urban micro-climate and outdoor thermal comfort in urban design and planning processes has become one of the important aspects in current related studies. However, these aspects are so far not considered in urban planning regulations in practice and these regulations are often poorly adapted to the local climate and culture. Therefore, there is a huge need to adapt the existing planning regulations to the local climate especially in cities that have extremely hot weather conditions. The overall aim of this study is to point out the complexity of the relationship between urban planning regulations, urban design, micro-climate and outdoor thermal comfort in the hot dry city of Damascus, Syria. The main aim is to investigate the temporal and spatial effects of micro-climate on urban surface temperatures and outdoor thermal comfort in different urban design patterns as a result of urban planning regulations during the extreme summer conditions. In addition, studying different alternatives of how to mitigate the surface temperature and thermal stress is also a part of the aim. The novelty of this study is to highlight the combined effect of urban surface materials and vegetation to develop the thermal environment. This study is based on micro-climate simulations using ENVI-met 3.1. The input data is calibrated according to a micro-climate fieldwork that has been conducted in different urban zones in Damascus. Different urban forms and geometries including the old and the modern parts of Damascus are thermally evaluated. The Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index is used as an indicator for outdoor thermal comfort analysis. The study highlights the shortcomings of existing planning regulations in terms of solar protection especially at street levels. The results show that the surface temperatures in Old Damascus are lower than in the modern part. This is basically due to the difference in urban geometries that prevent the solar radiation in Old Damascus to reach the ground and heat up the surface whereas in modern Damascus, the streets are prescribed as wide spaces with high values of Sky View Factor (SVF is about 0.7). Moreover, the canyons in the old part are paved in cobblestones whereas the asphalt is the main material used in the streets of modern Damascus. Furthermore, Old Damascus is less stressful than the modern part (the difference in PET index is about 10 °C). The thermal situation is enhanced when different vegetation are considered (an improvement of 13 °C in the surface temperature is recorded in modern Damascus). The study recommends considering a detailed landscape code at street levels to be integrated in urban regulations of Damascus in order to achieve a better urban development in harmony with micro-climate and comfort. Such strategy will be very useful to decrease the urban warming in the city.

Keywords: micro-climate, outdoor thermal comfort, urban planning regulations, urban spaces

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Authors: Lale Efe, Zeynep Gokce

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In this study carried out in 2013-14 growing season in East Mediterranean Region of Turkey, it was aimed to investigate the effects of different sowing times on the seed yield and quality of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graceum L.). Three fenugreek genotypes (Gürarslan, Candidate Line-1 and Genotype-1) were sown on 13.11.2013 and 07.03.2014 according to factorial randomized block design with 3 replications. Plant height (cm), branch number per plant, first pod height (cm), pod length (mm), seed number per pod (g), seed yield per plant (g), seed yield per decar (kg), thousand seed weight (g), mucilage rate (%), seed protein ratio (%), seed oil ratio (%), oleic acid (%), linoleic acid (%), palmitic acid (%) and stearic acid (%) were investigated. Among genotypes, while the highest seed yield per plant was obtained from Genotype-1 (5 g/plant), the lowest seed yield per plant was obtained from cv. Gürarslan (3.4 g/plant). According to genotype x sowing date interactions, it can be said that the highest seed yield per plant was taken in autumn sowing from Genotype-1 (6.6 g/plant) and the lowest seed yield per plant was taken in spring sowing from cv. Gürarslan (2.9 g/plant). Genotype-1 had the highest linoleic acid ratio (41.6 %). Cv. Gürarslan and Candidate Line-1 had the highest oleic acid ratio (respectively 17.8 % and 17.6%).

Keywords: fenugreek, seed yield and quality, sowing times, Trigonella foenum graecum L.

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Authors: Vathanachannbo Veth, Ilan Ich, Sophea Rom Phy, Ty Sok, Layheang Song, Sophal Try, Chantha Oeurng

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Climate change is one of the major global challenges inducing disaster risks and threatening livelihoods and communities through adverse impacts on food and water security, ecosystems, and services. Prek Thnot River Basin of Cambodia is one of the largest tributaries in the Lower Mekong that has been exposed to hazards and disasters, particularly floods and is said to be the effect of climate change. Therefore, the assessment of precipitation and streamflow changes under the effect of climate change was proposed in this river basin using Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and different flow indices under baseline (1997 to 2011) and climate change scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 with three General Circulation Models (GCMs): GFDL, GISS, and IPSL) in two time-horizons: near future (the 2030s: 2021 to 2040) and medium future (2060s: 2051 to 2070). Both intensity and frequency indices compared with the historical extreme rainfall indices significantly change in the GFDL under the RCP8.5 for both 2030s and 2060s. The average rate change of Rx1day, Rx10day, SDII, and R20mm in the 2030s and 2060s of both RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 was found to increase in GFDL and decrease in both GISS and IPSL. The mean percentage change of the flow analyzed in the IHA tool (Group1) indicated that the flow in the Prek Thnot River increased in GFDL for both RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 in both 2030s and 2060s, oppositely in GISS, the flow decreases. Moreover, the IPSL affected the flow by increasing in five months (January, February, October, November, and December), and in the other seven months, the flow decreased accordingly. This study provides water resources managers and policymakers with a wide range of precipitation and water flow projections within the Prek Thnot River Basin in the context of plausible climate change scenarios.

Keywords: IHA, climate change, disaster risk, Prek Thnot River Basin, Cambodia

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Authors: Auwal Garba, Rabiu Maijama’a, Abdullahi Muhammad Jalam

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Variability in climate has affected the agricultural production all over the globe. This concern has motivated important changes in the field of research during the last decade. Climate variability is believed to have declining effects towards rice production in Nigeria. This study examined climate variability and its impact on rice productivity in Dass Local Government Area, Bauchi State, by employing Linear Trend Model (LTM), analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis. Annual seasonal data of the climatic variables for temperature (min. and max), rainfall, and solar radiation from 1990 to 2015 were used. Results confirmed that 74.4% of the total variation in rice yield in the study area was explained by the changes in the independent variables. That is to say, temperature (minimum and maximum), rainfall, and solar radiation explained rice yield with 74.4% in the study area. Rising mean maximum temperature would lead to reduction in rice production while moderate increase in mean minimum temperature would be advantageous towards rice production, and the persistent rise in the mean maximum temperature, in the long run, will have more negatively affect rice production in the future. It is, therefore, important to promote agro-meteorological advisory services, which will be useful in farm planning and yield sustainability. Closer collaboration among the meteorologist and agricultural scientist is needed to increase the awareness about the existing database, crop weather models among others, with a view to reaping the full benefits of research on specific problems and sustainable yield management and also there should be a special initiative by the ADPs (State Agricultural Development Programme) towards promoting best agricultural practices that are resilient to climate variability in rice production and yield sustainability.

Keywords: climate variability, impact, productivity, rice

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Authors: Nuno Da Camara, Victor Dulewicz, Malcolm Higgs

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Factors on employee engagement: In particular, although theorists have described the critical role of emotional cognition of the workplace environment as antecedents to employee engagement, empirical research on the impact of emotional cognition on employee engagement is limited. However, previous researchers have typically provided evidence of the link between emotional cognition of the workplace environment and workplace attitudes such as job satisfaction and organisational commitment. This study therefore aims to investigate the impact of emotional cognition of job, role, leader and organisation domains of the work environment – as represented by measures of psychological climate and organizational emotional intelligence (OEI) - on employee engagement. The research is based on a quantitative cross-sectional survey of employees in a UK charity organization (n=174). The research instruments applied include the psychological climate scale, the organisational emotional intelligence questionnaire (OEIQ) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). The data were analysed using hierarchical regression and partial least squares (PLS) analytical techniques. The results of the study show that both psychological climate and OEI, which represent emotional cognition of job, role, leader and organisation domains in the workplace are significant drivers of employee engagement. In particular, the study found that a sense of contribution and challenge at work are the strongest drivers of vigour, dedication and absorption and highlights the importance of emotionally relevant approaches in furthering our understanding of workplace engagement.

Keywords: employee engagement, organisational emotional intelligence, psychological climate, workplace attitudes

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Authors: Valentina Dotto

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Climate change cases used to take the form of statutory disputes rather than constitutional or common law disputes. This changed in 2015, with the Urgenda Climate case in the Netherlands (Urgenda Foundation v. The State of the Netherlands, C/09/456689/HAZA 13-1396) and, the Juliana case in the U.S. (United States v. U.S. District Court for District of Oregon, 17-71692, 9th Cir.). The two cases represent a new type of climate litigation, the claims brought against the federal government were in fact grounded in constitutional rights. The complaints used the Doctrine of Public Trust as a cornerstone for the lawsuits asserting that government's actions against climate change failed to protect essential public trust resources; thus, violating a generation's constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. The Public Trust Doctrine –a quintessentially American legal concept-, reserved to the States by virtue of the 9th and 10th amendment of the federal Constitution, gives them considerable jurisdiction over natural resources and has been refined by a number of Supreme Court rulings. The Juliana case exemplifies the Doctrine’s evolutionary nature because it attempts to apply it to the federal government, and establish a right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life as a fundamental right protected by a substantive due process. Furthermore, the flexibility of the Doctrine makes it permissible to be applied to a variety of different legal systems as in the Urgenda case. At the very heart of the lawsuits stands the question of who owns the Earth resources and, to what extent the general public can claim the services that the Earth provides as common property. By employing the widest possible definition of the Doctrine of Public Trust these lawsuits tried to redefine environmental resources as a collective right of all people. By doing case analysis, the paper explores how these cases can contribute to widening the public access to information and broadening the public voice in decision making as well as providing a precedent to equal access in seeking justice and redress from environmental failures.

Keywords: climate change, doctrine of public trust, environmental democracy, Juliana case, Urgenda climate case

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Authors: Aravind J.

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Passive design can be referred to a way of designing buildings that takes advantage of the prevailing climate and natural energy resources. Which will be a key to reduce the increasing energy usage in commercial buildings. Most of the small scale commercial buildings made are merely a thermal mass inbuilt with active systems to bring lively conditions. By bringing the passive design strategies for energy efficiency in commercial buildings will reduce the usage of active systems. Thus the energy usage can be controlled through analysis of daylighting and improved living conditions in the indoor spaces by using passive techniques. And comparative study on different passive design systems and conventional methods will be approached for commercial buildings in hot and humid region. Possible effects of existing risks implied with solution for those problems is also a part of the paper. The result will be carried on with the design programme to prove the workability of the strategies.

Keywords: passive design, energy efficiency, commercial buildings, hot and humid climate

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Authors: S. Rasti, M. A. Rajabzadeh

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Nickel-bearing laterites occur as two parallel belts along Sedimentary Zagros Orogenic (SZO) and Metamorphic Sanandaj-Sirjan (MSS) petrostructural zones, Fars Province, south Iran. An undisturbed vertical profile of these laterites includes protolith, saprolite, clay, and oxide horizons from base to top. Highly serpentinized harzburgite with relicts of olivine and orthopyroxene is regarded as the source rock. The laterites are unusual in lacking a significant saprolite zone with little development of Ni-silicates. Hematite, saponite, dolomite, smectite and clinochlore increase, while calcite, olivine, lizardite and chrysotile decrease from saprolite to oxide zones. Smectite and clinochlore with minor calcite are the major minerals in clay zone. Contacts of different horizons in laterite profiles are gradual and characterized by a decrease in Mg concentration ranging from 18.1 to 9.3 wt.% in oxide and saprolite, respectively. The maximum Ni concentration is 0.34 wt.% (NiO) in the base of the oxide zone, and goethite is the major Ni-bearing phase. From saprolite to oxide horizons, Al₂O₃, K₂O, TiO₂, and CaO decrease, while SiO₂, MnO, NiO, and Fe₂O₃ increase. Silica content reaches up to 45 wt.% in the upper part of the soil profile. There is a decrease in pH (8.44-8.17) and an increase in organic matter (0.28-0.59 wt.%) from base to top of the soils. The studied laterites are classified in the oxide clans which were derived from ophiolite ultramafic rocks under Mediterranean climate conditions.

Keywords: Iran, laterite, mineralogy, ophiolite

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Authors: Alan Lai, Wilson Yik

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With rapid urbanization, there has been a dramatic increase in global urban population in Asia and over half of population in Asia will live in urban regions in the near future. Facing with increasing exposure to climate-related stresses and shocks, most of the Asian cities will very likely to experience more frequent heat waves and flooding with rising sea levels, particularly the coastal cities will grapple for intense typhoons and storm surges. These climate changes have severe impacts in urban areas at the costs of infrastructure and population, for example, human health, wellbeing and high risks of dengue fever, malaria and diarrheal disease. With the increasing prominence of adaptation to climate changes, there have been changes in corresponding policies. Smaller cities have greater potentials for integrating the concept of resilience into their infrastructure as well as keeping pace with their rapid growths in population. It is therefore important to explore the potentials of Asian cities adapting to climate change and the opportunities of building climate resilience in urban planning and building design. Furthermore, previous studies have mainly attempted at exploiting the potential of resilience on a macro-level within urban planning rather than that on micro-level within the context of individual building. The resilience of individual building as a research field has not yet been much explored. Nonetheless, recent studies define that the resilience of an individual building is the one which is able to respond to physical damage and recover from such damage in a quickly and cost-effectively manner, while maintain its primary functions. There is also a need to develop an assessment tool to evaluate the resilience on building scale which is still largely uninvestigated as it should be regarded as a basic function of a building. Due to the lack of literature reporting metric for assessing building resilience with sustainability, the research will be designed as a case study to provide insight into the issue. The aim of this research project is to encourage and assist in developing neighborhood climate resilience design strategies for Hong Kong so as to bridge the gap between difference scales and that between theory and practice.

Keywords: resilience cities, building resilience, resilient buildings and infrastructure, climate resilience, hot and humid southeast area, high-density cities

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Authors: Pius Borona, Cheikh Mbow, Issa Ouedraogo

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In the Sahel, climate variability has been associated with a complex web of direct and indirect impacts. This natural phenomenon has been an impediment to agro-pastoral communities who experience uncertainty while involving in farming activities which is also their key source of livelihood. In this scenario, the role of climate variability in influencing the performance, quantity and quality of staple cereals yields, vital for food and nutrition security has been a topic of importance. This response of crops and subsequent yield variability is also a subject of immense debate due to the complexity of crop development at different stages. This complexity is further compounded by influence of slowly changing non-climatic factors. With these challenges in mind, the present paper initially explores the occurrence of climate variability at an inter annual and inter decadal level in South Burkina Faso. This is evidenced by variation of the total annual rainfall and the number of rainy days among other climatic descriptors. Further, it is shown how district-scale cereal yields in the study area including maize, sorghum and millet casually associate variably to the inter-annual variation of selected climate variables. Statistical models show that the three cereals widely depict sensitivity to the length of the growing period and total dry days in the growing season. Maize yields on the other hand relate strongly to the rainfall amount variation (R2=51.8%) showing high moisture dependence during critical growth stages. Our conclusions emphasize on adoption of efficient water utilization platforms especially those that have evidently increased yields and strengthening of forecasts dissemination.

Keywords: climate variability, cereal yields, seasonality, rain fed farming, Burkina Faso, rainfall

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Yesim Guzel, Mert Akbiyik

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Energy consumption (EC) and costs due to the usage of refrigerators are increasing continuously. This creates a disadvantage not only on the budget of customers but also to global warming. This study aims to decrease EC and cost due to refrigerator EC all around the world. Research about the effect of climate classes on industrial cabinets, supermarket refrigerators or room air conditioning systems can be found in open literature; however, to the best of authors' knowledge, there is no study that includes the effect of climate classes, vacuum insulation panels (VIP) and polyurethane (PU) aging, and electronic expansion valve (EEV) technology for home refrigerators. For this purpose, 4 configurations are examined for household refrigerators for ST (subtropical) and T (tropical) climates. The aging of VIP and PU and the annual interest rate of electricity cost (%5) are considered to obtain more accurate results in calculations. Heat gain (Q), EC, and CO₂ emission are calculated. Config. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are with NO VIP, FULL VIP, NO VIP+ EEV, and FULL VIP+EEV, respectively. As a result, it is observed that Q for Config. 1 and 2 increase as Temp increases. Moreover, from ST to T climates, for all the configurations, EC increases. Additionally, the payback period (t) is based on reference cabinet Config. 1 is calculated. It is considered that annual electricity cost as constant for every climate. When ts are compared with Config. 1 for both climates, it is seen that the minimum t of 2 years is Config. 3. This study shows not only is EEV a better alternative option than VIPs. Hence, EEVs are way cheaper than VIPs and have shorter t, but it also allows us to compare Ec, Q, CO₂ emissions, and cost.

Keywords: energy, thermodynamics, ageing, VIP, polyurethane, expansion valve, EEV, PU, climate, refrigerating, cooling, efficiency

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Authors: Juniarti Yuni

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Simawang area is one of the critical areas (sub-optimal) that experienced drought from climate changes. Potential dry land belonging to sub-optimal in Simawang, West Sumatera, Indonesia not been fully utilized for agricultural cultivation. Simawang village, West Sumatera, Indonesia is formerly known as the rice barn, due to the climate change area is experiencing a drought, so the rice fields that were once productive now a grazing paddock because of lack of water. This study aims to calculate the soil carbon stock in Simawang village, West Sumatera Indonesia. The study was conducted in Simawang village, Tanah Datar regency, West Sumatera from October 2014 until December 2017. The study was conducted on sub-optimal land to be planted with Cymbopogon nardus L. (Sereh wangi in Indonesian language). Composite soil sampling conducted at a depth of 0-20 cm, 20–40 cm. Based on the depth of soil carbon stocks gained higher ground 6473 T/Ha at a depth of 0-20 cm at a depth of 20-40 cm. Efforts to increase soil carbon is expected to be cultivated through Cymbopogon nardus L. planting has been done.

Keywords: climate changes, sereh wangi (Cymbopogon nardus L.), soil carbon stock, sub optimal land

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Farhan J. M. Al-Behadili, Vineeta Bilgi, Miyuki Taniguchi, Junxi Li, Wei Xu

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Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) is one of the most destructive pests of fruits and vegetables. Medfly originated from Africa and spread in many countries, and is currently an endemic pest in Western Australia. Medfly has been recorded from over 300 plant species including fruits, vegetables, nuts and its main hosts include blueberries, citrus, stone fruit, pome fruits, peppers, tomatoes, and figs. Global trade of fruits and other farm fresh products are suffering from the damages of this pest, which prompted towards the need to develop more effective ways to control these pests. The available quarantine treatment technologies mainly include chemical treatment (e.g., fumigation) and non-chemical treatments (e.g., cold, heat and irradiation). In recent years, with the loss of several chemicals, it has become even more important to rely on non-chemical postharvest control technologies (i.e., heat, cold and irradiation) to control fruit flies. Cold treatment is one of the most potential trends of focus in postharvest treatment because it is free of chemical residues, mitigates or kills the pest population, increases the strength of the fruits, and prolongs storage time. It can also be applied to fruits after packing and ‘in transit’ during lengthy transport by sea during their exports. However, limited systematic study on cold treatment of Medfly stages in artificial diets was reported, which is critical to provide a scientific basis to compare with previous research in plant products and design an effective cold treatment suitable for exported plant products. The overall purpose of this study was to evaluate and understand Medfly responses to cold treatments. Medfly stages were tested. The long-term goal was to optimize current postharvest treatments and develop more environmentally-friendly, cost-effective, and efficient treatments for controlling Medfly. Cold treatment with different exposure times is studied to evaluate cold eradication treatment of Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), that reared on carrot diet. Mortality is important aspect was studied in this study. On the other hand, study effects of exposure time on mortality means of medfly stages.

Keywords: cold treatment, fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, carrot diet, temperature effects

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Authors: Shymaa S. Zaher, Hesham M. Abd El-Fatah, Dina M. Ali

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Burullus Lagoon is the second largest lake, along the Mediterranean seashore. It exposed to over nutrient enrichment from fish farming and agricultural drainage wastes. This study assesses the present status phytoplankton response to different flow events, including domestic, agricultural, industrial, and fish farms discharge in the three main sectors of Burullus Lagoon, to focus on the influence of environmental variables on phytoplankton species composition inhabiting the Lagoon. Twelve sites representing the eastern, central, and western basin were selected during winter and summer 2018. Among the most abundant group, Chlorophyceae came in the first rank by 37.9% of the total phytoplankton densities, Bacillariophyceae (29.31%), Cyanophyceae (20.7%), Euglenophyceae (8.63%) and Dinophyceae (3.4%). Cyclotella menenghiana was the most abundant diatoms, while Scenedesmus quadricauda, S. acuminatus, and S. bijuga were highly recorded nearby the drains (in the middle sector). Phytoplankton in Burullus Lagoon attained the lowest values during the winter season and the highest ones during the summer season. The total count of phytoplankton in the middle and western basin of the lake was higher than that of the eastern part. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and washing out of nutrients loaded to the drainage water, leading to a significant pronounced decrease in community composition and standing crop of phytoplankton in Burullus Lake from year to year, hold the danger of shifting the lagoon ecosystem.

Keywords: Burullus Lagoon, environmental variables, phytoplankton, water pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: F. Sahnoune

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The study focuses on the analysis of the Algerian greenhouse gase emissions. In Algeria, as in other countries, the issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change is the subject of great concern. As climate change is a global problem and taking into consideration the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' as mentioned in the Rio Declaration in 1992, Algeria has initiated a broad program of voluntary reduction of GHG emissions and climate change adaptation. Thus although the contribution of Algeria on global warming is minimal (less than 0.5% of global GHG emissions), the country is, because its geographical position and climatic characteristics, very vulnerable and should integrate mitigation and adaptation into its development policy. Even a small rise in temperature would lead to various socio-economic problems that hinder the development of the country. The models predict that rainfall events are less frequent but more intense, while droughts are more common and longer. The decrease of water resources, declining agricultural yields, encroaching desert, the challenge of planning and the energy consumption for air conditioning are only the initial impacts to which Algeria must find answers supportable economically and socially. The study examines to what extent, Algeria can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We present an analysis of the current situation, trends in CO2 emissions, footprint of Algeria, national climate plan and especially what will be the impact on GHG emissions of the new strategy for promoting renewable energy adopted in 2011 and expects to produce 40% of electricity needs from solar energy. The results show that in 2012 the GHG emissions totaled 153 MT CO2 eq and growing at a rate of over 3%. The Introduction of solar energy in electricity production and implementation of energy efficiency allow to reduce by 2030 more than 300 MT CO2 eq. Avenues of consideration relating to a combination of policies and improved technologies that are able to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate the impacts caused by climate change in the medium term will also be presented.

Keywords: climate change, co2 mitigation, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Bharat Sapkota

Abstract:

Nepal is the one of the victim country of climate change. Decreasing snow line, sometimes higher and sometime non-rain fall are common phenomena in hill area. Natural flood disaster and drought is also common every year in certain place of the country. So this paper analyze the effect of climate and natural water sources for sustainability of water sanitation and hygiene of Tanahun district. It is one of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project Western Nepal Phase-II (RWSSP-WN Phase-II) project district out of 14 project districts of western and mid-western Nepal. RWSSP-WN II is a bilateral development cooperation of governments of Nepal and Finland. Big investment is still going on in water sanitation and hygiene sector but sustainability is still a challenge throughout the country. So RWSSP-WN has started the strengthen of the capacity of local Governments to deliver services in water supply, sanitation and hygiene and its sustainability through the implementation of cross cutting approach of climate change and disaster risk reduction. The study shows that the average yield in 685 natural point sources were around 0.045 l/s in 2014 but it was twice as high in 2004 i.e. 0.09 l/s. The maximum measured yield in 2014 was 1.87 l/s, whereas, the maximum yield was 3 l/s in 2004. Likewise, spring source mean and maximum yield measured in 2014 were 0.16 l/s and 3.33 l/s respectively, whereas, mean and maximum yields in 2004 were 0.204 l/s and 3 l/s respectively. Small streams average yield measured in 2014 was 0.32 l/s with the maximum of around 4.99 l/s. In 2004, mean and maximum yields of streams were 0.485 l/s and 5 l/s respectively. The overall climate between years 2002 to 2013 and measured yield data between 2004 and 2014 shows climate as one of the causes of water source decline. The temperature is rising with pace of 0.041°C per year and rainfall is decreased by 16.8 mm/year. The Khosla’s empirical formula shows decrease of 1.7 cm/year in runoff. At present sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene is more challenge due to sources decreasing in the district. Sanitation and hygiene total behavior change and watershed conservation as well as design and implementation of recharge pound construction are the way forward of sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene.

Keywords: water sanitation, hygiene, sustainability, climate change

Procedia PDF Downloads 308