Abstract: Kombolcha leather industry produces huge amounts of inorganic and organic wastes which pollute the adjacent environment including Abba Sharo River. This study was focused on characterizing the physic-chemical parameters of Kombolcha tannery effluent and evaluates its impact on the water quality of receiving Abba Sharo River water. Accordingly, two tannery effluent samples along wastewater channel at different distances have been taken and three river water samples were collected al...
Abstract: Most invasive alien species reengineer the host ecosystem by altering its structure and functioning so that some new ecosystem services are added and, at the same time, some existing ecosystem services are lost. Prosopis, a woody invasive tree, was intentionally introduced in dry lands of east Africa for its environmental and economic benefits. However, some 40 years later, it escaped from plantations and has invaded significant. This study investigates impacts of Prosopis on the r...
Abstract: Local communities’ adaptation to climate change requires measures that simultaneously reduce poverty, protect or restore biodiversity and ecosystem services, and remove atmospheric greenhouse gases. Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) involves measures for climate change mitigation and adaptation that aim to strengthen the resilience of local communities vulnerable to climate change effects. It combines measures to achieve these multiple outcomes and is particularly relevant to deve...
Abstract: The study was conducted at Gara Ades protected vegetation of Doba woreda, Western Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia; from October to December 2017 with the objective of analysing the woody vegetation structure, diversity and regeneration status, as well as soil status potentials under three slope gradient classes. Primarily, slope classes were set purposively; where lower slope class was (LSC: 10 - 20 %) and upper slope class was (USC: >20 - 0.05) different in the LSC, MSC and USC which is p...
Abstract: Climate change has adversely affected the livelihoods of people in developing countries where a large proportion of the population is heavily dependent on agriculture. Severe and repeated rise in temperature and rainfall failures caused loss of crops and livestock which resulted in food insecurity in Ethiopia. This study aims to investigate farmers’ perception and adaptation strategies to climate change in Woreillu District. Both qualitative and quantitative data obtained using p...
Abstract: Universal access to and use of clean water has significant impact on improving public health, spur economic development, and reduce poverty. The main objective of this study was to investigate the rural water supply systems with case study in Midakegn woreda, in west-central Ethiopia. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Eight sample water schemes were selected from four kebeles and totally 164 representative households were identified as sample size....
Abstract: This study explores households’ perceptions about the effects of Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara invasions in Amibara and Tulo districts of Afar and Oromia National Regional States of Ethiopia, respectively. The study used cross-sectional data collected from 260 randomly selected households, 130 households from each district, from 15 selected kebeles through semi-structured questionnaire. To measure households’ perceptions about the invasive species, perception index was ...
Abstract: Agricultural sector plays a key role in Ethiopia’s economy, but the sector and smallholders farmers are susceptible to climate change due to high dependence on erratic rainfall. This study therefore sought to assess vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change and adaptation strategies in Doba district, West Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia. Long-term rainfall and temperature data were obtained from National Meteorological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia. Rainfall and temperature data ...
Abstract: In Ethiopia, the need for pesticides in improved agriculture is increasing but unwise application it has a subsequent effect on honeybees. Hence, the study was aimed to assess beekeeping and pesticide application practices and to identify the toxicity of pesticides on honeybee (Apis mellifera bandasii) at Lemo district, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Questionnaires were organized to collect survey data. Toxicity of pesticides were identified using laboratory via feeding, contact a...
Abstract: Citizens owned fuel transport companies in Botswana are startups and are operating at a small to medium scale. Being startups or Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), they are faced with similar challenges that confront most new small businesses. The aim of this study was to assess the challenges faced by citizen-owned fuel transport companies in Botswana and their influence on enterprise growth. The role of finance, human resources, industry experience, and government support was e...
Abstract: Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris (L.)) are major sources of protein for human and animal consumption. Production of these crops is hampered by insect pests, especially the complex of brown spiny bugs of the genus Clavigralla (Hemiptera: Coreidae) which causes yield loss of up to 100% in various parts of Africa. The current practice of pesticide application to control these species is not efficient and has negative impacts on human health and ...
Abstract: Amaranths are African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) that are gaining popularity in several countries around the world due to their nutritional, medicinal and economic values. Insect pests are however a major challenge to optimum production of amaranths. The lepidopteran defoliator moth commonly known as Hawaiian beet webworm/amaranth leaf-webber, Spoladea recurvalis has been reported to be a major pest in amaranth fields, with the potential of causing complete defoliation under seve...
Abstract: Grasses in the genus Brachiaria, commonly known as brachiaria are grown as a fodder crop in sub-Saharan Africa, with some genotypes being used in management of the spotted stemborer Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) through a habitat management strategy. Stemborer is a major insect pest of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and maize (Zea mays L.) in Africa. However, utilization of brachiaria in cereal-livestock based farming systems in the region faces several bi...
Abstract: Grain legumes are among the key economical crops widely grown in western and eastern Africa as important sources of food and animal fodder. However, the production of grain legumes in Kenya is seriously affected by a complex of insect pests particularly thrips. Yield losses of 20 to 100% have often been reported in some areas. The bean flower thrips (BFT), Megalurothrips sjostedti is considered to be the most important thrips pest of grain legumes. Chemical control is still the mai...
Abstract: Maize is the most widely grown cereal crop worldwide, and is the most important staple crop in sub-Sahara Africa. The spotted stemborer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera:Crambidae) is considered among the most important pests of maize and the damage it causes may result in yield losses of up to 88%. Previous studies showed that plants damaged by herbivores release huge amounts of volatile compounds, known as herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) into the environment, whic...