Search results for: climatic hazards

Authors: Radha Krishan, Deepak Khare, Bhaskar R. Nikam, Ayush Chandrakar

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Every irrigation project is planned considering long-term historical climatic conditions; however, the prompt climatic shift and change has come out with such circumstances which were inconceivable in the past. Considering this fact, scrutiny of rainfall and temperature trend has been carried out over the command area of Eastern Ganga Canal project for pre-climate shift period and post-climate shift periods in the present study. Non-parametric Mann-Kendall and Sen’s methods have been applied to study the trends in annual rainfall, seasonal rainfall, annual rainy day, monsoonal rainy days, average annual temperature and seasonal temperature. The results showed decreasing trend of 48.11 to 42.17 mm/decade in annual rainfall and 79.78 tSo 49.67 mm/decade in monsoon rainfall in pre-climate to post-climate shift periods, respectively. The decreasing trend of 1 to 4 days/decade has been observed in annual rainy days from pre-climate to post-climate shift period. Trends in temperature revealed that there were significant decreasing trends in annual (-0.03 ºC/yr), Kharif (-0.02 ºC/yr), Rabi (-0.04 ºC/yr) and summer (-0.02 ºC/yr) season temperature during pre-climate shift period, whereas the significant increasing trend (0.02 ºC/yr) has been observed in all the four parameters during post climate shift period. These results will help project managers in understanding the climate shift and lead them to develop alternative water management strategies.

Keywords: climate shift, rainfall trend, temperature trend, Mann-Kendall test, sen slope estimator, eastern Ganga canal command

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Authors: Hyeon-Kyo Lim, Hyunjung Kim, Kune-Woo Lee

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Decommissioning process of nuclear facilities can be said to consist of a sequence of problem solving activities, partly because there may exist working environments contaminated by radiological exposure, and partly because there may also exist industrial hazards such as fire, explosions, toxic materials, and electrical and physical hazards. As for an individual hazard factor, risk assessment techniques are getting known to industrial workers with advance of safety technology, but the way how to integrate those results is not. Furthermore, there are few workers who experienced decommissioning operations a lot in the past. Therefore, not a few countries in the world have been trying to develop appropriate counter techniques in order to guarantee safety and efficiency of the process. In spite of that, there still exists neither domestic nor international standard since nuclear facilities are too diverse and unique. In the consequence, it is quite inevitable to imagine and assess the whole risk in the situation anticipated one by one. This paper aimed to find out an appropriate technique to integrate individual risk assessment results from the viewpoint of experts. Thus, on one hand the whole risk assessment activity for decommissioning operations was modeled as a sequence of individual risk assessment steps, and on the other, a hierarchical risk structure was developed. Then, risk assessment procedure that can elicit individual hazard factors one by one were introduced with reference to the standard operation procedure (SOP) and hierarchical task analysis (HTA). With an assumption of quantification and normalization of individual risks, a technique to estimate relative weight factors was tried by using the conventional Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) and its result was reviewed with reference to judgment of experts. Besides, taking the ambiguity of human judgment into consideration, debates based upon fuzzy inference was added with a mathematical case study.

Keywords: decommissioning, risk assessment, analytic hierarchical process (AHP), fuzzy inference

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Authors: Alisawi Alaa T., Collins P. E. F.

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The analysis and evaluation of slope stability and landslide hazards are landslide hazards are critically important in civil engineering projects and broader considerations of safety. The level of slope stability risk should be identified due to its significant and direct financial and safety effects. Slope stability hazard analysis is performed considering static and/or dynamic loading circumstances. To reduce and/or prevent the failure hazard caused by landslides, a sophisticated and practical hazard analysis method using advanced constitutive modeling should be developed and linked to an effective solution that corresponds to the specific type of slope stability and landslides failure risk. Previous studies on slope stability analysis methods identify the failure mechanism and its corresponding solution. The commonly used approaches include used approaches include limit equilibrium methods, empirical approaches for rock slopes (e.g., slope mass rating and Q-slope), finite element or finite difference methods, and district element codes. This study presents an overview and evaluation of these analysis techniques. Contemporary source materials are used to examine these various methods on the basis of hypotheses, the factor of safety estimation, soil types, load conditions, and analysis conditions and limitations. Limit equilibrium methods play a key role in assessing the level of slope stability hazard. The slope stability safety level can be defined by identifying the equilibrium of the shear stress and shear strength. The slope is considered stable when the movement resistance forces are greater than those that drive the movement with a factor of safety (ratio of the resistance of the resistance of the driving forces) that is greater than 1.00. However, popular and practical methods, including limit equilibrium approaches, are not effective when the slope experiences complex failure mechanisms, such as progressive failure, liquefaction, internal deformation, or creep. The present study represents the first episode of an ongoing project that involves the identification of the types of landslides hazards, assessment of the level of slope stability hazard, development of a sophisticated and practical hazard analysis method, linkage of the failure type of specific landslides conditions to the appropriate solution and application of an advanced computational method for mapping the slope stability properties in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere through geographical information system (GIS) and inverse distance weighted spatial interpolation(IDW) technique. This study investigates and assesses the different assesses the different analysis and solution techniques to enhance the knowledge on the mechanism of slope stability and landslides hazard analysis and determine the available solutions for each potential landslide failure risk.

Keywords: slope stability, finite element analysis, hazard analysis, landslides hazard

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Authors: Ivy Chumo, Sheillah Simiyu, Hellen Gitau, Isaac Kisiangani, Caroline Kabaria Kanyiva Muindi, Blessing Mberu

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The global sanitation workforce bridges the gap between sanitation infrastructure and the provision of sanitation services through essential public service work. Manual pit emptiers often perform the work at the cost of their dignity, safety, and health as their work requires repeated heavy physical activities such as lifting, carrying, pulling, and pushing. This exposes them to occupational and environmental health hazards and risking illness, injury, and death. The study will extend the studies by presenting occupational health risks and suggestions for improvement in informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. This is a qualitative study conducted among sanitation stakeholders in Korogocho, Mukuru and Kibera informal settlements in Nairobi. Data were captured using digital voice recorders, transcribed and thematically analysed. The discussion notes were further supported by observational notes made during the interviews. These formed the basis for a robust picture of occupational health of manual pit emptiers; a lack or inappropriate use of protective clothing, and prolonged duration of working hours were described to contribute to the occupational health hazard. To continue working, manual pit emptiers had devised coping strategies which include working in groups, improvised protective clothing, sharing the available protective clothing, working at night and consuming alcohol drinks while at work. Many of these strategies are detrimental to their health. Occupational health hazards among pit emptiers are key for effective working and is as a result of a lack of collaboration amongst stakeholders linked to health, safety and lack of PPE of pit emptiers. Collaborations amongst sanitation stakeholders is paramount for health, safety, and in ensuring the provision and use of personal protective devices.

Keywords: sanitation, occupational health, manual emptiers, informal settlements

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Authors: Niranjan Devkota , Ram Kumar Phuya, Durga Lal Shreshta

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This paper estimates cost and benefit of adoption of climate change adaptation options available to the rural rice farmers of Nepal. Adoption of adaptation strategies, intensity of use of adaptation options, identification of labor and non-labor cost and finally per unit cost and benefit analysis of climate change adaptation were made. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to source respondents for the study and used structured questionnaire techniques to collect data from 773 households from seven districts; 3 from Terai and 4 from Hilly region of Nepal. The result revealed that there are 13 major adaptation options rice farmers practice in order to protect themselves from climatic risk. Among the given adaptation options, the first three popular adaptation options practiced by rice farmers are (i) increasing use of chemical fertilizer (60.93%) (ii) use of climate smart verities (49.29%) and (iii) change in nursery date (32.08%). Adaptation cost is obvious, based on that, the first three costly adaptation options are the alternative irrigation practice which incurred average cost of US $69.95 (US$ 1 = 102.84 Nepalese Rupees) followed by a denser plantation of local seeds ($ 20.69) and using climate smart varieties ($ 18.06). 88% farmers practiced more than one adaptation strategies on the same farm with the aim of reducing the effect of extreme climatic conditions. Total cost and revenue revealed that per unit total cost ranges from $28.34 to $32.79 whereas per unit total revenue ranges $33.4 to $49.02. Surprisingly, it is observed that farmers who do not adopt any adaptation options are able to receive highest income from per unit production. As Net Present Value (NPV) is positive and Benefit Cost Ration (BCR) is greater than one for every adaptation options that indicates the available adaptation options are profitable to the rice farmers.

Keywords: climate change, adaptation options, cost benefit analysis, rural rice farmers, Nepal

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Authors: Sukhwinder Singh, Julian Park, Dinesh Kumar Benbi

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Although soil health, which is recognized as one of the key determinants of sustainable agricultural development, can be measured by a range of physical, chemical and biological parameters, the widely used parameters include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), plant available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Soil health is largely affected by the occurrence of natural events or human activities and can be improved by various land management practices. A database of 120 soil samples collected from farmers’ fields spread across three major agro-climatic zones of Punjab suggested that the average pH, EC, OC, P and K was 8.2 (SD = 0.75, Min = 5.5, Max = 9.1), 0.27 dS/m (SD = 0.17, Min = 0.072 dS/m, Max = 1.22 dS/m), 0.49% (SD = 0.20, Min = 0.06%, Max = 1.2%), 19 mg/kg soil (SD = 22.07, Min = 3 mg/kg soil, Max = 207 mg/kg soil) and 171 mg/kg soil (SD = 47.57, Min = 54 mg/kg soil, Max = 288 mg/kg soil), respectively. Region-wise, pH, EC and K were the highest in south-western district of Ferozpur whereas farmers in north-eastern district of Gurdaspur had the best soils in terms of OC and P. The soils in the central district of Barnala had lower OC, P and K than the respective overall averages while its soils were normal but skewed towards alkalinity. Besides agro-climatic conditions, the size of landholding and farmer education showed a significant association with Soil Fertility Index (SFI), a composite index calculated using the aforementioned parameters’ normalized weightage. All the four stakeholder groups cited the current cropping patterns, burning of rice crop residue, and imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers for change in soil health. However, the current state of soil health in Punjab is unclear, which needs further investigation based on temporal data collected from the same field to see the short and long-term impacts of various crop combinations and varied cropping intensity levels on soil health.

Keywords: soil health, punjab agriculture, sustainability, soil fertility index

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Authors: Bintou Jobe

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Musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or disorders of the spine disc, muscle strains, and low back injuries. It remains a major cause of occupational illness. Findings: Due to poor grips during handling, it is possible for neck, shoulder, arm, knees, ankle, fingers, waist, lower back injuries, and other muscle joints to be affected. Pregnant women are more prone to physical and hormonal changes, which lead to the relaxation of supporting ligaments. MSD continues to pose a global concern due to its impact on workers worldwide. The prevalence of the disorder is high, according to research into the workforce in Europe and developing countries. The causes are characterized by long working hours, insufficient rest breaks, poor posture, repetitive motion, poor manual handling techniques, psychological stress, and poor nutrition. To prevent MSD, the design mainly involves avoiding and assessing the risk. However, clinical solutions, policy governance, and minimizing manual labour are also an alternative. In addition, eating a balanced diet and teamwork force are key to elements in minimising the risk. This review aims to raise awareness and promote cost effectiveness prevention and understanding of MSD through research and identify proposed solutions to recognise the underlying causes of MSDs in the construction sectors. The methodology involves a literature review approach, engaging with the policy landscape of MSD, synthesising publications on MSD and a wider range of academic publications. In conclusion, training on effective manual handling techniques should be considered, and Personal Protective Equipment should be a last resort. The implementation of training guidelines has yielded significant benefits.

Keywords: musculoskeletal disorder work related, MSD, manual handling, work hazards

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Authors: S. Pushkar, O. Verbitsky

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Currently, green rating systems are mainly utilized for correctly sizing mechanical and electrical systems, which have short lifetime expectancies. In these systems, passive solar and bio-climatic architecture, which have long lifetime expectancies, are neglected. Urban rating systems consider buildings and services in addition to neighborhoods and public transportation as integral parts of the built environment. The main goal of this study was to develop a more consistent point allocation system for urban building standards by using six different lifetime shearing layers: Site, Structure, Skin, Services, Space, and Stuff, each reflecting distinct environmental damages. This shearing-layer concept was applied to internationally well-known rating systems: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development, BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for Communities, and Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development. The results showed that LEED for Neighborhood Development and BREEAM for Communities focused on long-lifetime-expectancy building designs, whereas CASBEE for Urban Development gave equal importance to the Building and Service Layers. Moreover, although this rating system was applied using a building-scale assessment, “Urban Area + Buildings” focuses on a short-lifetime-expectancy system design, neglecting to improve the architectural design by considering bio-climatic and passive solar aspects.

Keywords: green rating system, urban community, sustainable design, standardization, shearing-layer concept, passive solar architecture

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Authors: Karim Ahmed

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The purpose of this study was to investigate how factoring the impact of natural disasters beyond flooding would affect managed retreat policy eligibility in the United States. For the study design, a correlation analysis method compared weighted measures of flooding and other natural disasters (e.g., wildfires, tornadoes, heatwaves, etc.) to CBSA Populated areas, the prevalence of cropland, and relative poverty on a county level. The study found that the vast majority of CBSAs eligible for managed retreat programs under a policy inclusive of non-flooding events would have already been covered by flood-only managed retreat policies. However, it is noteworthy that a majority of those counties that are not covered by a flood-only managed retreat policy have high rates of poverty and are either heavily populated and/or agriculturally active. The correlation is particularly strong between counties that are subject to multiple natural hazards and those that have both high rates of relative poverty and cropland prevalence. There is currently no managed retreat policy for agricultural land in the United States despite the environmental implications and food supply chain vulnerabilities related to at-risk cropland. The findings of this study suggest both that such a policy should be created and, when it is, that special attention should be paid to non-flood natural disasters affecting agricultural areas. These findings also reveal that, while current flood-based policies in the United States serve many areas that do need access to managed retreat funding and implementation, other vulnerable areas are overlooked by this approach. These areas are often deeply impoverished and are therefore particularly vulnerable to natural disaster; if and when those disasters do occur, these areas are often less financially prepared to recover or retreat from the disaster’s advance and, due to the limitations of the current policies discussed above, are less able to take the precautionary measures necessary to mitigate their risk.

Keywords: flood, hazard, land use, managed retreat, wildfire

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Authors: Bensaid A., Mostephaoui T., Nedjai R.

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Climatic factors are the subject of considerable research, both methodologically and instrumentally. Under the effect of climate change, the approach to climate parameters with precision remains one of the main objectives of the scientific community. This is from the perspective of assessing climate change and its repercussions on humans and the environment. However, many regions of the world suffer from a severe lack of reliable instruments that can make up for this deficit. Alternatively, the use of empirical methods becomes the only way to assess certain parameters that can act as climate indicators. Several scientific methods are used for the evaluation of evapotranspiration which leads to its evaluation either directly at the level of the climatic stations or by empirical methods. All these methods make a point approach and, in no case, allow the spatial variation of this parameter. We, therefore, propose in this paper the use of three sources of information (network of weather stations of Meteo France, World Databases, and Moodis satellite images) to evaluate spatial evapotranspiration (ETP) using the Turc method. This first step will reflect the degree of relevance of the indirect (satellite) methods and their generalization to sites without stations. The spatial variation representation of this parameter using the geographical information system (GIS) accounts for the heterogeneity of the behaviour of this parameter. This heterogeneity is due to the influence of site morphological factors and will make it possible to appreciate the role of certain topographic and hydrological parameters. A phase of predicting the evolution over the medium and long term of evapotranspiration under the effect of climate change by the application of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios gives a realistic overview as to the contribution of aquatic systems to the scale of the region.

Keywords: climate change, ETP, MODIS, GIEC scenarios

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Authors: Derya Yucel, Nigar Angın, Dürdane Mart, Meltem Turkeri, Volkan Catalkaya, Celal Yucel

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Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the important legumes widely grown for dietery proteins in semi-arid Mediteranean climatic conditions. To evaluate the genetic diversity with improved heat and drought tolerance capacity in chickpea, thirty-four selected chickpea genotypes were tested under different field-growing conditions (rainfed winter sowing, irrigated-late sowing and rainfed-late sowing) in 2015 growing season. A factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with 3 reps was conducted at the Eastern Mediterranean Research Institute Adana, Turkey. Based on grain yields under different growing conditions, several indices were calculated to identify economically higher-yielding chickpea genotypes with greater heat and drought tolerance capacity. Average across chickpea genotypes, the values of tolerance index, mean productivity, yield index, yield stability index, stress tolerance index, stress susceptibility index, and geometric mean productivity were ranged between 1.1 to 218, 38 to 202, 0.3 to 1.7, 0.2 to 1, 0.1 to 1.2, 0.02 to 1.4, and 36 to 170 for drought stress and 3 to 54, 23 to 118, 0.3 to 1.7, 0.4 to 0.9, 0.2 to 2, 0.2to 2.3, and 23 to 118 for heat stress, respectively. There were highly significant differences observed among the tested chickpea genotypes response to drought and heat stresses. Among the chickpea genotypes, the Aksu, Arda, Çakır, F4 09 (X 05 TH 21-16189), FLIP 03-108 were identified with a higher drought and heat tolerance capacity. Based on our field studies, it is suggested that the drought and heat tolerance indicators of plants can be used by breeders to select stress-resistant economically productive chickpea genotypes suitable to grow under Mediteranean climatic conditions.

Keywords: irrigation, rainfed, stress susceptibility, tolerance indice

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Authors: Jiahua Zhang, Qing Chang, Fengmei Yao

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Studying on the response of vegetation phenology to climate change at different temporal and spatial scales is important for understanding and predicting future terrestrial ecosystem dynamics andthe adaptation of ecosystems to global change. In this study, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset and climate data were used to analyze the dynamics of grassland phenology as well as their correlation with climatic factors in different eco-geographic regions and elevation units across the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that during 2003–2012, the start of the grassland greening season (SOS) appeared later while the end of the growing season (EOS) appeared earlier following the plateau’s precipitation and heat gradients from southeast to northwest. The multi-year mean value of SOS showed differences between various eco-geographic regions and was significantly impacted by average elevation and regional average precipitation during spring. Regional mean differences for EOS were mainly regulated by mean temperature during autumn. Changes in trends of SOS in the central and eastern eco-geographic regions were coupled to the mean temperature during spring, advancing by about 7d/°C. However, in the two southwestern eco-geographic regions, SOS was delayed significantly due to the impact of spring precipitation. The results also showed that the SOS occurred later with increasing elevation, as expected, with a delay rate of 0.66 d/100m. For 2003–2012, SOS showed an advancing trend in low-elevation areas, but a delayed trend in high-elevation areas, while EOS was delayed in low-elevation areas, but advanced in high-elevation areas. Grassland SOS and EOS changes may be influenced by a variety of other environmental factors in each eco-geographic region.

Keywords: grassland, phenology, MODIS, eco-geographic regions, elevation, climatic factors, Tibetan Plateau

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Authors: Carolina Aparicio-Fernández, Alejandro Vilar Abad, Mar Cañada Soriano, Jose-Luis Vivancos

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The building sector is responsible for 40% of the total energy consumption in the European Union (EU). Thus, implementation of strategies for quantifying and reducing buildings energy consumption is indispensable for reaching the EU’s carbon neutrality and energy efficiency goals. Each Member State has transposed the European Directives according to its own peculiarities: existing technical legislation, constructive solutions, climatic zones, etc. Therefore, in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Member States have developed different Energy Performance Certificate schemes, using proposed energy simulation software-tool for each national or regional area. Energy Performance Certificates provide a powerful and comprehensive information to predict, analyze and improve the energy demand of new and existing buildings. Energy simulation software and databases allow a better understanding of the current constructive reality of the European building stock. However, Energy Performance Certificates still have to face several issues to consider them as a reliable and global source of information since different calculation tools are used that do not allow the connection between them. In this document, TRNSYS (TRaNsient System Simulation program) software is used to calculate the energy demand of a building, and it is compared with the energy labeling obtained with Spanish Official software-tools. We demonstrate the possibility of using not official software-tools to calculate the Energy Performance Certificate. Thus, this approach could be used throughout the EU and compare the results in all possible cases proposed by the EU Member States. To implement the simulations, an isolated single-family house with different construction solutions is considered. The results are obtained for every climatic zone of the Spanish Technical Building Code.

Keywords: energy demand, energy performance certificate EPBD, trnsys, buildings

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Authors: Naci Büyükkaracığan

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Hydroclimatic observation values ​​are used in the planning of the project of water resources. Climate variables are the first of the values ​​used in planning projects. At the same time, the climate system is a complex and interactive system involving the atmosphere, land surfaces, snow and bubbles, the oceans and other water structures. The amount and distribution of precipitation, which is an important climate parameter, is a limiting environmental factor for dispersed living things. Trend analysis is applied to the detection of the presence of a pattern or trend in the data set. Many trends work in different parts of the world are usually made for the determination of climate change. The detection and attribution of past trends and variability in climatic variables is essential for explaining potential future alteration resulting from anthropogenic activities. Parametric and non-parametric tests are used for determining the trends in climatic variables. In this study, trend tests were applied to annual total precipitation data obtained in period of 1972 and 2012, in the Konya Basin. Non-parametric trend tests, (Sen’s T, Spearman’s Rho, Mann-Kendal, Sen’s T trend, Wald-Wolfowitz) and parametric test (mean square) were applied to annual total precipitations of 15 stations for trend analysis. The linear slopes (change per unit time) of trends are calculated by using a non-parametric estimator developed by Sen. The beginning of trends is determined by using the Mann-Kendall rank correlation test. In addition, homogeneities in precipitation trends are tested by using a method developed by Van Belle and Hughes. As a result of tests, negative linear slopes were found in annual total precipitations in Konya.

Keywords: trend analysis, precipitation, hydroclimatology, Konya

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Authors: Dorna Kargar, Mehrasa Masih

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Due to its special geological and geographical conditions, Iran has always been exposed to various natural hazards. Earthquake is one of the natural hazards with random nature that can cause significant financial damages and casualties. This is a serious threat, especially in areas with active faults. Therefore, considering the population density in some parts of the country, locating and zoning high-risk areas are necessary and significant. In the present study, seismic hazard assessment via probabilistic and deterministic method for Tehran, the capital of Iran, which is located in Alborz-Azerbaijan province, has been done. The seismicity study covers a range of 200 km from the north of Tehran (X=35.74° and Y= 51.37° in LAT-LONG coordinate system) to identify the seismic sources and seismicity parameters of the study region. In order to identify the seismic sources, geological maps at the scale of 1: 250,000 are used. In this study, we used Kijko-Sellevoll's method (1992) to estimate seismicity parameters. The maximum likelihood estimation of earthquake hazard parameters (maximum regional magnitude Mmax, activity rate λ, and the Gutenberg-Richter parameter b) from incomplete data files is extended to the case of uncertain magnitude values. By the combination of seismicity and seismotectonic studies of the site, the acceleration with antiseptic probability may happen during the useful life of the structure is calculated with probabilistic and deterministic methods. Applying the results of performed seismicity and seismotectonic studies in the project and applying proper weights in used attenuation relationship, maximum horizontal and vertical acceleration for return periods of 50, 475, 950 and 2475 years are calculated. Horizontal peak ground acceleration on the seismic bedrock for 50, 475, 950 and 2475 return periods are 0.12g, 0.30g, 0.37g and 0.50, and Vertical peak ground acceleration on the seismic bedrock for 50, 475, 950 and 2475 return periods are 0.08g, 0.21g, 0.27g and 0.36g.

Keywords: peak ground acceleration, probabilistic and deterministic, seismic hazard assessment, seismicity parameters

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Authors: Malay K. Pramanik

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Climate change is continuously affecting the ecosystem, species distribution as well as global biodiversity. The assessment of the species potential distribution and the spatial changes under various climate change scenarios is a significant step towards the conservation and mitigation of habitat shifts, and species' loss and vulnerability. In this context, the present study aimed to predict the influence of current and future climate on an ecologically vulnerable medicinal species, Garcinia gummi-gutta, of the southern Western Ghats using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling. The future projections were made for the period of 2050 and 2070 with RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) scenario of 4.5 and 8.5 using 84 species occurrence data, and climatic variables from three different models of Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) fifth assessment. Climatic variables contributions were assessed using jackknife test and AOC value 0.888 indicates the model perform with high accuracy. The major influencing variables will be annual precipitation, precipitation of coldest quarter, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of driest quarter. The model result shows that the current high potential distribution of the species is around 1.90% of the study area, 7.78% is good potential; about 90.32% is moderate to very low potential for species suitability. Finally, the results of all model represented that there will be a drastic decline in the suitable habitat distribution by 2050 and 2070 for all the RCP scenarios. The study signifies that MaxEnt model might be an efficient tool for ecosystem management, biodiversity protection, and species re-habitation planning under climate change.

Keywords: Garcinia gummi gutta, maximum entropy modeling, medicinal plants, climate change, western ghats, MaxEnt

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Authors: Saima Akbar, Tahseen Ullah Khan

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The analysis of the climate change impact on flood frequency represents an important issue for water resource management and flood risk mitigation. This research was conducted to address the effects of climate change on flood incidents of Pakistan and find out gaps in existing policies to reducing the environmental aspects on floods and effects of global warming. The main objective of this research was to critically analyses the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Federal Flood Commission (FFC) and Vision 2025, as an effective policy document which is not only hitting the target of a climate resilient Pakistan but provides room for efficient and flexible policy implementation. The methodology integrates projected changes in monsoon patterns (since last 20 years and overall change in rainfall pattern since 1901 to 2015 from Pakistan Metrological Department), glacier melting, decreasing dam capacity and lacks in existing policies by using SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) model in order to explore the relative impacts of global warming on the system performance. Results indicate the impacts of climate change are significant, but probably not large enough to justify a major effort for adapting the physical infrastructure to expected climatic conditions in Vision 2025 which is our shared destination to progress, ultimate aspiration to see Pakistan among the ten largest economies of the world by 2047– the centennial year of our independence. The conclusion of this research was to adapt sustainable measures to reduce flood impacts and make policies as neighboring countries are adapting for their sustainability.

Keywords: climatic factors, monsoon, Pakistan, sustainability

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Authors: Shailendra M. Pradhan, Upendra M. Pradhan

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Disasters are perennial features of human civilization. The recurring earthquakes, floods, cyclones, among others, that result in massive loss of lives and devastation, is a grim reminder of the fact that, despite all our success stories of development, and progress in science and technology, human society is perennially at risk to disasters. The apparent threat of climate change and global warming only severe our disaster risks. Darjeeling hills, situated along Eastern Himalayan region of India, and famous for its three Ts – tea, tourism and toy-train – is also equally notorious for its disasters. The recurring landslides and earthquakes, the cyclone Aila, and the Ambootia landslides, considered as the largest landslide in Asia, are strong evidence of the vulnerability of Darjeeling hills to natural disasters. Given its geographical location along the Hindu-Kush Himalayas, the region is marked by rugged topography, geo-physically unstable structure, high-seismicity, and fragile landscape, making it prone to disasters of different kinds and magnitudes. Most of the studies on disasters in Darjeeling hills are, however, scientific and geographical in orientation that focuses on the underlying geological and physical processes to the neglect of social and political conditions. This has created a tendency among the researchers and policy-makers to endorse and promote a particular type of discourse that does not consider the social and political aspects of disasters in Darjeeling hills. Disaster, this paper argues, is a complex phenomenon, and a result of diverse factors, both physical and human. The hazards caused by the physical and geological agents, and the vulnerabilities produced and rooted in political, economic, social and cultural structures of a society, together result in disasters. In this sense, disasters are as much a result of political and economic conditions as it is of physical environment. The human aspect of disasters, therefore, compels us to address intricating social and political challenges that ultimately determine our resilience and vulnerability to disasters. Set within the above milieu, the aims of the paper are twofold: a) to provide a political and sociological account of disasters in Darjeeling hills; and, b) to identify and address the root causes of its vulnerabilities to disasters. In situating disasters in Darjeeling Hills, the paper adopts the Pressure and Release Model (PAR) that provides a theoretical insight into the study of social and political aspects of disasters, and to examine myriads of other related issues therein. The PAR model conceptualises risk as a complex combination of vulnerabilities, on the one hand, and hazards, on the other. Disasters, within the PAR framework, occur when hazards interact with vulnerabilities. The root causes of vulnerability, in turn, could be traced to social and political structures such as legal definitions of rights, gender relations, and other ideological structures and processes. In this way, the PAR model helps the present study to identify and unpack the root causes of vulnerabilities and disasters in Darjeeling hills that have largely remained neglected in dominant discourses, thereby providing a more nuanced and sociologically sensitive understanding of disasters.

Keywords: Darjeeling, disasters, PAR, vulnerabilities

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Authors: S. P. Rana

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Objectives: For the manufacture of a very thin strip or a strip with a high-quality finish, the stainless steel sheet that is called billet is re-rolled in re-rolling mill to make stainless steel sheet of 18 gauges. The rolls of re-rolling mill exert tremendous pressure over the sheet and there is likely chance of breaking of stainless steel strip from the sheet. The objective of the study was to minimise the number of accidents in steel re-rolling mills due to ejection of stainless steel strip and to minimize the pollution caused by the pickling process used in these units. Methods: Looking into the high rate of frequency and severity of accidents as well as pollution hazard in re-rolling and pickling mills, it becomes essential to make necessary arrangements for prevention of accidents in such type of industry. The author carried out survey/inspections of a large number of re-rolling and pickling mills and allied units. During the course of inspection, the working of these steel re-rolling and pickling mills was closely studied and monitored. A number of accidents involving re-rolling mills were investigated and subsequently remedial measures to prevent the occurrence of such accidents were suggested. Assessment of occupational safety and health system of these units was carried out and compliance level of the statutory requirements was checked. The workers were medically examined and monitored to ascertain their health conditions. Results: Proper use of safety gadgets by workers, machine guarding and regular training brought down the risk to an acceptable level and discharged effluent pollution was brought down to permissible limits. The fatal accidents have been reduced by 83%. Conclusions: Effective enforcement and implementation of the directions/suggestions given to the managements of such units brought down the no. of accidents to a rational level. The number of fatal accidents has reduced by 83% during the study period. The effective implementation of pollution control device curtailed the pollution level to an acceptable level.

Keywords: re-rolling mill, hazard, accident, health hazards

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Authors: Debanjana Chatterjee

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Vernacular settlements in India often take the form that is dictated by the climate they are in. India, with its vast cultural diversity and various climatic regions, offers a wide range of vernacular architecture. This paper focuses on two main geographical regions: Kashmir and Kerala. They bring together myriad challenges of climatic and social characteristics to incorporate into their vernacular architectures, which are still relevant despite the advent of globalization and modernization. Scholars like William Wurster and Catherine Bauer even claimed that all the traditional buildings in these places have the kind of urbanity, which is dignified and elegant but also lively and human that every architect would like to achieve if they knew how. With modernization, and with a greater ease of construction, a reduction in labor, and the apparent robustness of contemporary construction techniques, people have, however, become increasingly tentative in respect of vernacular architecture. And yet modern architecture has typically led to energize intensive structures without much consideration to the location and surroundings of the structure itself. In contrary, Laurie Baker, the British-born Indian architect, had shown us the way to integrate the knowledge of vernacular when he developed his designs based on the traditional architecture of Kerala, respecting the local climate and environment. This paper also explores his technical creativity in his design of Center for Development Studies (CDS) in Trivandrum. Hence, in order to protect and conserve our rich cultural and architectural heritage, the elements of vernacular should be incorporated into the contemporary planning and architecture for sustainable building design. The provision should be made to incorporate vernacular architecture and traditional knowledge in the policies. Ultimately, the policymakers, planners, and architects should consider this incorporation of traditional vernacular and contemporary sustainability in their work for the betterment of society now.

Keywords: vernacular, architecture, sustainable development, Kashmir and Kerala, climate, Laurie Baker

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Authors: Gift Udoh, Diane S. Rohlman, Benjamin Sindt

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BACKGROUND: There is concern regarding the widespread use of pesticides and impacts on public health. Farmers in Nigeria frequently apply pesticides, including organophosphate pesticides which are known neurotoxicants. They receive little guidance on how much to apply or information about safe handling practices. Pesticide poisoning is one of the major hazards that farmers face in Nigeria. Farmers continue to use highly neurotoxic pesticides for agricultural activities. Because farmers receive little or no information on safe handling and how much to apply, they continue to develop severe and mild illnesses caused by high exposures to pesticides. The project aimed to reduce pesticide exposure among rural farmers in Nigeria by identifying hazards associated with pesticide use and developing and pilot testing training to reduce exposures to pesticides utilizing the hierarchy of controls system. METHODS: Information on pesticide knowledge, behaviors, barriers to safety, and prevention methods was collected from farmers in Nigeria through workplace observations, questionnaires, and interviews. Pre and post-surveys were used to measure farmer’s knowledge before and after the delivery of pesticide safety training. Training topics included the benefits and risks of using pesticides, routes of exposure and health effects, pesticide label activity, use and selection of PPE, ways to prevent exposure and information on local resources. The training was evaluated among farmers and changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were collected prior to and following the training. RESULTS: The training was administered to 60 farmers, a mean age of 35, with a range of farming experience (<1 year to > 50 years). There was an overall increase in knowledge after the training. In addition, farmers perceived a greater immediate risk from exposure to pesticides and their perception of their personal risk increased. For example, farmers believed that pesticide risk is greater to children than to adults, recognized that just because a pesticide is put on the market doesn’t mean it is safe, and they were more confident that they could get advice about handling pesticides. Also, there was greater awareness about behaviors that can increase their exposure (mixing pesticides with bare hands, eating food in the field, not washing hands before eating after applying pesticides, walking in fields recently sprayed, splashing pesticides on their clothes, pesticide storage). CONCLUSION: These results build on existing evidence from a 2022 article highlighting the need for pesticide safety training in Nigeria which suggested that pesticide safety educational programs should focus on community-based, grassroots-style, and involve a family-oriented approach. Educating farmers on agricultural safety while letting them share their experiences with their peers is an effective way of creating awareness on the dangers associated with handling pesticides. Also, for rural communities, especially in Nigeria, pesticide safety pieces of training may not be able to reach some locations, so intentional scouting of rural farming communities and delivering pesticide safety training will improve knowledge of pesticide hazards. There is a need for pesticide information centers to be situated in rural farming communities or agro supply stores, which gives rural farmers information.

Keywords: pesticide exposure, pesticide safety, nigeria, rural farming, pesticide education

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Authors: M. T. Islam, S. H. Shakif, R. Hasan, S. H. Kobi

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Investigation of rainfall trends is crucial considering climate change, food security, and the economy of a particular region. This research aims to study seasonal and annual precipitation trends and their abrupt changes over time in the south-central climatic zone of Bangladesh using monthly time series data of 50 years (1970-2019). A trend-free pre-whitening method has been employed to make necessary adjustments for autocorrelations in the rainfall data. Trends in rainfall and their intensity have been observed using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen estimator. Significant changes and fluctuation points in the data series have been detected using the sequential Mann-Kendall test at the 95% confidence limit. The study findings show that most of the rainfall stations in the study area have a decreasing precipitation pattern throughout all seasons. The maximum decline in the rainfall intensity has been found for the Tangail station (-8.24 mm/year) during monsoon. Madaripur and Chandpur stations have shown slight positive trends in post-monsoon rainfall. In terms of annual precipitation, a negative rainfall pattern has been identified in each station, with a maximum decrement (-) of 14.48 mm/year at Chandpur. However, all the trends are statistically non-significant within the 95% confidence interval, and their monotonic association with time ranges from very weak to weak. From the sequential Mann-Kendall test, the year of changing points for annual and seasonal downward precipitation trends occur mostly after the 90s for Dhaka and Barishal stations. For Chandpur, the fluctuation points arrive after the mid-70s in most cases.

Keywords: trend analysis, Mann-Kendall test, Theil-Sen estimator, sequential Mann-Kendall test, rainfall trend

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Authors: Meryem Imane Babaghayou, Abdelhafidi Asma

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This study deals with the ageing of Blown extruded films of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), used for greenhouse covering. The LDPE have been subjected to climatic ageing in a sub-Saharan facility at Laghouat (Algeria) with direct exposure to sun. The microstructural changes in the films were analyzed by IRFT for different states of ageing. The mechanical characterization was performed on a uniaxial tensile apparatus. The mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, strain at break, and stress at break have been followed for different states of exposure time (0 to 6 months). The Climatic ageing of LDPE films shows the effect of ageing on the microstructural Plan which leads to: i) To an oxidation of the molecular chains. ii) To the formation of cross-linkings and breaking chains, which both of them are responsible for the mechanical behavior’s modifications of the material. Cross-links are in favor of strengthening of the mechanical properties at break (the increase of σr and εr). In other side, the chains breaking leads to a decrease of these properties. The increase in the Young's modulus also seems to be related to those structural changes since the cross-links increase the average molecular weight. Branchings and tangles are favorable pairs for the ductile nature of the material. And in other side, the chains breaking reduces the average molecular weight and therefore promotes the stiffening (following to morphological changes) so the material becomes fragile. The post-mortem analysis of the samples shows that the mechanical stress has an effect on the molecular structure of the material. Although if quantitatively the concentrations of different chemical species exchanges, from a quantitative point of view only the unsaturations raises the polemics of a possible microstructural modification induced by mechanical stress applied during the tensile test. Also, we recommend a more rigorous analysis with other means of investigation.

Keywords: low-density polyethylene, ageing, mechanical properties, IRTF

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Authors: Sherly M. A., Subhankar Karmakar, Terence Chan, Christian Rau

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Floods are one of the most frequent natural disasters, causing widespread devastation, economic damage and threat to human lives. Hydrologic impacts of climate change and intensification of urbanization are two root causes of increased flood occurrences, and recent research trends are oriented towards understanding these aspects. Due to rapid urbanization, population of cities across the world has increased exponentially leading to improperly planned developments. Climate change due to natural and anthropogenic activities on our environment has resulted in spatiotemporal changes in rainfall patterns. The combined effect of both aggravates the vulnerability of urban populations to floods. In this context, an efficient and effective flood risk management with its core component as flood risk mapping is essential in prevention and mitigation of flood disasters. Urban flood risk mapping involves zoning of an urban region based on its flood risk, which depicts the spatiotemporal pattern of frequency and severity of hazards, exposure to hazards, and degree of vulnerability of the population in terms of socio-economic, environmental and infrastructural aspects. Although vulnerability is a key component of risk, its assessment and mapping is often less advanced than hazard mapping and quantification. A synergic effort from technical experts and social scientists is vital for the effectiveness of flood risk management programs. Despite an increasing volume of quality research conducted on urban flood risk, a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach towards flood risk mapping still remains neglected due to which many of the input parameters and definitions of flood risk concepts are imprecise. Thus, the objectives of this review are to introduce and precisely define the relevant input parameters, concepts and terms in urban flood risk mapping, along with its methodology, current status and limitations. The review also aims at providing thought-provoking insights to potential future researchers and flood management professionals.

Keywords: flood risk, flood hazard, flood vulnerability, flood modeling, urban flooding, urban flood risk mapping

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Authors: Rommila Chandra, Harshika Choudhary

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The value of integrated, participatory, and community based sustainable development strategies is eminent, but in practice, it still remains fragmentary and often leads to short-lived results. Despite the global presence of climate change, its impacts are felt differently by different communities based on their vulnerability. The developing countries have the low adaptive capacity and high dependence on environmental variables, making them highly susceptible to outmigration and poverty. We need to understand how to enable these approaches, taking into account the various governmental and non-governmental stakeholders functioning at different levels, to deliver long-term socio-economic and environmental well-being of local communities. The research assessed the financial and natural vulnerability of Himalayan networks, focusing on their potential to adapt to various changes, through accessing their perceived reactions and local knowledge. The evaluation was conducted by testing indices for vulnerability, with a major focus on indicators for adaptive capacity. Data for the analysis were collected from the villages around Govind National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the Indian Himalayan Region. The villages were stratified on the basis of connectivity via road, thus giving two kinds of human settlements connected and isolated. The study focused on understanding the complex relationship between outmigration and the socio-cultural sentiments of local people to not abandon their land, assessing their adaptive capacity for livelihood opportunities, and exploring their contribution that integrated participatory methodologies can play in delivering sustainable development. The result showed that the villages having better road connectivity, access to market, and basic amenities like health and education have a better understanding about the climatic shift, natural hazards, and a higher adaptive capacity for income generation in comparison to the isolated settlements in the hills. The participatory approach towards environmental conservation and sustainable use of natural resources were seen more towards the far-flung villages. The study helped to reduce the gap between local understanding and government policies by highlighting the ongoing adaptive practices and suggesting precautionary strategies for the community studied based on their local conditions, which differ on the basis of connectivity and state of development. Adaptive capacity in this study has been taken as the externally driven potential of different parameters, leading to a decrease in outmigration and upliftment of the human environment that could lead to sustainable livelihood development in the rural areas of Himalayas.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, Indian Himalayan region, participatory, sustainable livelihood development

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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

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Authors: Pradip Kumar Das

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Phenomenal growth of population and industry exploits the environment in varied ways. Consequently, the greenhouse effect and other allied problems are threatening mankind the world over. Protection and up gradation of environment have, therefore, become the prime necessity all of mankind for the sustainable development of environment. People in humbler walks of life including the corporate citizens have become aware of the impacts of environmental pollution. Governments of various nations have entered the picture with laws and regulations to correct and cure the effects of present and past violations of environmental practices and to obstruct future violations of good environmental disciplines. In this perspective, environmental audit directs verification and validation to ensure that the various environmental laws are complied with and adequate care has been taken towards environmental protection and preservation. The discipline of environmental audit has experienced expressive development throughout the world. It examines the positive and negative effects of the activities of an enterprise on environment and provides an in-depth study of the company processes any growth in realizing long-term strategic goals. Environmental audit helps corporations assess its achievement, correct deficiencies and reduce risk to the health and improving safety. Environmental audit being a strong management tool should be administered by industry for its own self-assessment. Developed countries all over the globe have gone ahead in environment quantification; but unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness about pollution and environmental hazards among the common people in India. In the light of this situation, the conceptual analysis of this study is concerned with the rationale of environmental audit on the industry and the society as a whole and highlights the emerging dimensions in the auditing theory and practices. A modest attempt has been made to throw light on the recent development in environmental audit in developing nations like India and the problems associated with the implementation of environmental audit. The conceptual study also reflects that despite different obstacles, environmental audit is becoming an increasing aspect within the corporate sectors in India and lastly, conclusions along with suggestions have been offered to improve the current scenario.

Keywords: environmental audit, environmental hazards, environmental laws, environmental protection, environmental preservation

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Authors: Pallavi Gajjar, Vinayak Malhotra

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Rockets have been known to have played a predominant role in spacecraft propulsion. The quintessential aspect of combustion-related requirements of a rocket engine is the minimization of the surrounding risks/hazards. Over time, it has become imperative to understand the combustion rate variation in presence of external energy source(s). Rocket propulsion represents a special domain of chemical propulsion assisted by high speed flows in presence of acoustics and thermal source(s). Jet noise leads to a significant loss of resources and every year a huge amount of financial aid is spent to prevent it. External heat source(s) induce high possibility of fire risk/hazards which can sufficiently endanger the operation of a space vehicle. Appreciable work had been done with justifiable simplification and emphasis on the linear variation of external energy source(s), which yields good physical insight but does not cater to accurate predictions. Present work experimentally attempts to understand the correlation between inter-energy conversions with the non-linear placement of external energy source(s). The work is motivated by the need to have better fire safety and enhanced combustion. The specific objectives of the work are a) To interpret the related energy transfer for combustion in presence of alternate external energy source(s) viz., thermal and acoustic, b) To fundamentally understand the role of key controlling parameters viz., separation distance, the number of the source(s), selected configurations and their non-linear variation to resemble real-life cases. An experimental setup was prepared using incense sticks as potential fuel and paraffin wax candles as the external energy source(s). The acoustics was generated using frequency generator, and source(s) were placed at selected locations. Non-equidistant parametric experimentation was carried out, and the effects were noted on regression rate changes. The results are expected to be very helpful in offering a new perspective into futuristic rocket designs and safety.

Keywords: combustion, acoustic energy, external energy sources, regression rate

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Authors: Omogoriola Hannah Omoloye

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Fish is a key ingredient on the global menu, a vital factor in the global environment and an important basis for livelihood worldwide1. The length – weight relationships (LWRs) is of great importance in fishery assessment2,3. Its importance is pronounced in estimated the average weight at a given length group4 and in assessing the relative well being of a fish population5. Length and weight measurement in conjunction with age data can give information on the stock composition, age at maturity, life span, mortality, growth and production4,5,6,7. In addition, the data on length and weight can also provides important clues to climatic and environmental changes and the change in human consumption practices8,9. However, the size attained by the individual fish may also vary because of variation in food supply, and these in turn may reflect variation in climatic parameters and in the supply of nutrient or in the degree of competition for food. Environment deterioration, for example, may reduce growth rates and will cause a decrease in the average age of the fish. The condition factor and the relative condition factor10 are the quantitative parameters of the well being state of the fish and reflect recent feeding condition of the fish. It is based on the hypothesis that heavier fish of a given length are in better condition11. This factor varies according to influences of physiological factors, fluctuating according to different stages of the development. Condition factor has been used as an index of growth and feeding intensity12. Condition factor decrease with increase in length 12,13 and also influences the reproductive cycle in fish14. The objective here is to determine the length-weight relationships and condition factor for direct use in fishery assessment and for future comparisons between populations of the same species at different locations. To provide quantitative information on the biology of marine fish species trawl from Nigeria coastal water.

Keywords: condition factor, growth pattern, marine fish species, Nigerian Coastal water

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Authors: Kayode Fatokun, Nozipho N. Motsa

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Field experiments were carried out during the summer/autumn (first trial) and winter/spring (second trial) seasons of 2019 and 2021 inDlangubo, Ngwelezane, and Mtubatubaareas of KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa to study the drought amelioration effects and impact of 2 locally available organic wastes [filter cake (FC) and macadamia husk compost (MHC)] on the productivity, and physiological responses of 4 orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivars (Buregard cv., Impilo, W-119 and 199062.1). The effects of FC and MHC were compared with that of inorganic fertilizer (IF) [2:3:2 (30)], FC+IF, MHC+IF, and control. The soil amendments were applied in the first trials only. Climatic data such as humidity, temperature, and rainfall were taken via remote sensing. The results of the first trial indicated that filter cake and IF significantly performed better than MHC. While the strength of filter cake may be attributable to its rich array of mineral nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, iron, and phosphorus. The little performance from MHC may be attributable to its water holding capacity. Also, a positive correction occurred between the yield of the test OFSP cultivars and climatic factors such as rainfall, NDVI, and NDWI values. Whereas the inorganic fertilizer did not have any significant effect on the growth and productivity of any of the tested sweet potato cultivars in the second trial; FC, and MHC largely maintained their significant performances. In conclusion, the use of FC is highly recommended in the production of the test orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivars. Also, the study indicated that both FC and MHC may not only supply the needed plant nutrients but has the capacity to reduce the impact of drought on the growth of the test cultivars. These findings are of great value to farmers, especially the resource-poorones.

Keywords: amendments, drought, filter cake, macadamia husk compost, sweet potato

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