The role of human activities in the transmission of stomach flukes Paramphistomum microbothrium (Fishoeder, 1901) (Trematoda: Paramphistomatidae) in Tessaout amont irrigation scheme, Central Morocco

Une prospection menée au niveau des différentes structures du réseau d’irrigation dans la région de Tessaout Amont a montré l’existence de neuf espèces de mollusques d’eau douce appartenant à cinq familles. Les canaux d’irrigation traditionnels sont des sites de transmission de la schistosomose à Schistosoma haematobium à l'homme et de la distomatose à Fasciola hepatica chez les ovins et les caprins du Haouz. Plus récemment, la transmission de la paramphistomose a été également rapportée pour la première fois dans le Haouz au Maroc. La présente étude montre que l’infestation de Bulinus truncatus hôte intermédiaire de Paramphistomum microbotrium s’effectue dans des siphons inaccessibles au bétail qui en constitue l’hôte définitif. Il s’est avéré que les oeufs du parasite sont mis en contact du mollusque suite au rinçage des viscères de ruminants abattus par les bouchers et par les riverains dans l’eau des canaux et des siphons. Les implications de ce résultat sur les possibilités de lutte contre cette maladie sont discutées

Ensemble Identification of Spectral Bands Related to Soil Organic Carbon Levels over an Agricultural Field in Southern Ontario, Canada

The recent use of hyperspectral remote sensing imagery has introduced new opportunities for soil organic carbon (SOC) assessment and monitoring. These data enable monitoring of a wide variety of soil properties but pose important methodological challenges. Highly correlated hyperspectral spectral bands can affect the prediction and accuracy as well as the interpretability of the retrieval model. Therefore, the spectral dimension needs to be reduced through a selection of specific spectral bands or regions that are most helpful to describing SOC. This study evaluates the efficiency of visible near-infrared (VNIR) and shortwave near-infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral data to identify the most informative hyperspectral bands responding to SOC content in agricultural soils. Soil samples (111) were collected over an agricultural field in southern Ontario, Canada and analyzed against two hyperspectral datasets: An airborne Nano-Hyperspec imaging sensor with 270 bands (400–1000 nm) and a laboratory hyperspectral dataset (ASD FieldSpec 3) along the 1000–2500 nm range (NIR-SWIR). In parallel, a multimethod modeling approach consisting of random forest, support vector machine, and partial least squares regression models was used to conduct band selections and to assess the validity of the selected bands. The multimethod model resulted in a selection of optimal band or regions over the VNIR and SWIR sensitive to SOC and potentially for mapping. The bands that achieved the highest respective importance values were 711–715, 727, 986–998, and 433–435 nm regions (VNIR); and 2365–2373, 2481–2500, and 2198–2206 nm (NIR-SWIR). Some of these bands are in agreement with the absorption features of SOC reported in the literature, whereas others have not been reported before. Ultimately, the selection of optimal band and regions is of importance for quantification of agricultural SOC and would provide a new framework for creating optimized SOC-specific sensors

Estimation of changes in the force of infection for intestinal and urogenital schistosomiasis in countries with Schistosomiasis Control Initiative-assisted programmes

The last decade has seen an expansion of national schistosomiasis control programmes in Africa based on large-scale preventative chemotherapy. In many areas this has resulted in considerable reductions in infection and morbidity levels in treated individuals. In this paper, we quantify changes in the force of infection (FOI), defined here as the per (human) host parasite establishment rate, to ascertain the impact on transmission of some of these programmes under the umbrella of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI)

Position Paper on Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus and Sustainable development Goals (SDGs)

The EU and the international community is realising that the Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystem components are interlinked and require a joint planning in order to meet the daunting global challenges related to Water, Energy and Food security and maintaining the ecosystem health and in this way, reach the SDGs. If not dealt with, the world will not be able to meet the demand for water, energy and food in a not too far future and, in any case, in a not sustainable way. The strain on the ecosystems resulting from unsustainable single-sector planning will lead to increasing poverty, inequality and instability. The Nexus approach is fully aligned with and supportive of the EU Consensus on Development. Key elements of the Consensus will require collaborative efforts across sectors in ways that can be supported/implemented by a Nexus approach. In this way, transparent and accountable decision-making, involving the civil society is key and common to the European Consensus on Development and the Nexus approach. The Nexus approach will support the implementation of the SDG in particular SDG 2 (Food), SDG 6 (Water) and SDG 7 (Energy), but most SDGs have elements that link to food, water and energy in one or other way, and will benefit from a Nexus approach. The SDGs are designed to be cross-cutting and be implemented together, which is also reflected in a WEFE Nexus approach. A Nexus approach offers a sustainable way of addressing the effects of Climate Change and increase resilience. The WEFE Nexus has in it the main drivers of climate change (water, energy and food security) and the main affected sectors (water and the environment). Decisions around policy, infrastructure, … developed based on the WEFE Nexus assessments will be suitable as elements of climate change mitigation and adaptation. In fact, it is difficult to imagine solutions to the climate change issue that are not built on a form of Nexus approach. The Nexus approach is being implemented around the world, as examples in the literature demonstrate. These examples together with more examples from EU and member state development cooperation will help build experience that can be consolidated and become an important contribution to a Toolkit for WEFE Nexus Implementation. From the expert discussions, it appears that because of the novelty of the approach, a Toolkit will be an important element in getting the Nexus approach widely used. This should build on experiences from practical examples of NEXUS projects or similar inter-sectorial collaboration projects; and, there are already policy, regulation and practical experience to allow institutions and countries to start applying the Nexus concept.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Small reservoirs in Morocco: from the social dimension to economic, health and environmental impacts

In L'Association Marocaine de l'Agro-Economie (AMAECO) (Ed). Actes du Seminaire Developpement Durable des Zones de Montagne, Rabat, Morocco, 1-2 Decembre 2005. Rabat, Morocco: Association Marocaine de l'Agro-Economie (AMAECO)Depuis les annees 80, le Maroc comme de nombreux pays du continent Africain s'est lance dans une politique de petits barrages en parallele aux grands ouvrages de mobilisation des ressources en eaux de surface. Cette politique repond aux defis des secheresses recurrentes qui ont secoue le pays. Mais aussi, aux besoins de developpement des zones qui ne se pretent pas a des projets de plus grande envergure. Le nombre de sites de ce type de barrages techniquement faisables est estime a cinq cents. Le but de ces ouvrages est de collecter les eaux destinees a des usages multiples, notamment l'irrigation, l'abreuvement du betail, la recharge de la nappe, la prevention des inondation et dans certains cas l'alimentation en eau de boisson. Plus recemment, la politique des petits barrages a ete reiteree par le gouvernement. Ce qui laisse entendre que leur construction va se poursuivre dans le futur. A present, le nombre de petits barrages tous types confondus a depasse la centaine. Cependant, leur impact sur la sante et le bien etre des populations beneficiaires, sur l'environnement ainsi que leur valeur ajoutee au niveau local et national reste a determiner. L'experience de certains petits barrages au Maroc et dans d'autres pays africains demontre qu'ils peuvent dans certains cas poser des problemes lies au faible impact social et economique, favoriser l'introduction de maladies eaux dependantes et posent parfois des problemes techniques lies au choix du site, a l'envasement ou aux fuites et ruissellement de l'eau du reservoir. Le manque de mesures d'accompagnement peut dans certains cas limiter l'elan de developpement escompte. La presente communication a pour objectif de discuter, sur la base d'etudes de cas, les solutions envisageables et pouvant optimiser l'impact des petits barrages pour en faire un levier de developpement durable dans les zones enclavees notamment de montagne

Are small dams and reservoir hills in mountains a development engine?

In Proceedings of the National Conference of The Moroccan Association of Agro-Economists, 1-2 December 200

Using a Mobile Device “App” and Proximal Remote Sensing Technologies to Assess Soil Cover Fractions on Agricultural Fields

Quantifying the amount of crop residue left in the field after harvest is a key issue for sustainability. Conventional assessment approaches (e.g., line-transect) are labor intensive, time-consuming and costly. Many proximal remote sensing devices and systems have been developed for agricultural applications such as cover crop and residue mapping. For instance, current mobile devices (smartphones & tablets) are usually equipped with digital cameras and global positioning systems and use applications (apps) for in-field data collection and analysis. In this study, we assess the feasibility and strength of a mobile device app developed to estimate crop residue cover. The performance of this novel technique (from here on referred to as “app” method) was compared against two point counting approaches: an established digital photograph-grid method and a new automated residue counting script developed in MATLAB at the University of Guelph. Both photograph-grid and script methods were used to count residue under 100 grid points. Residue percent cover was estimated using the app, script and photograph-grid methods on 54 vertical digital photographs (images of the ground taken from above at a height of 1.5 m) collected from eighteen fields (9 corn and 9 soybean, 3 samples each) located in southern Ontario. Results showed that residue estimates from the app method were in good agreement with those obtained from both photograph–grid and script methods (R2 = 0.86 and 0.84, respectively). This study has found that the app underestimates the residue coverage by −6.3% and −10.8% when compared to the photograph-grid and script methods, respectively. With regards to residue type, soybean has a slightly lower bias than corn (i.e., −5.3% vs. −7.4%). For photos with residue <30%, the app derived residue measurements are within ±5% difference (bias) of both photograph-grid- and script-derived residue measurements. These methods could therefore be used to track the recommended minimum soil residue cover of 30%, implemented to reduce farmland topsoil and nutrient losses that impact water quality. Overall, the app method was found to be a good alternative to the point counting methods, which are more time-consuming