Meeting the challenges of urban park management: A Study of Two Sites: a thesis completed and submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

There are key environmental and management issues relevant to protected areas and national parks apparent world-wide such as: management of environmental quality, biodiversity conservation, management of visitor use and impacts, allocation of access, law enforcement and monitoring, facility design, park financial viability, and community development. Today, the trend has changed towards more specific and strategic management plans. Greater emphasis is put towards meeting targets and objectives and park managers are encouraged to have a direct hand in the preparation of management plans. Visitor impact is also creating problems in park management that was unforeseen in the past. The management of visitors may be viewed as an integral part of the operational network of service tasks, service standards, and service delivery systems of recreation sites. Comprehensive planning and on-going monitoring underpin much of the success in visitor management. Whether park management decides to use tools such as hardening, hedging, or flexing, controlling numbers and type of visitor, interpretation/information education, or even a combination of these, the vital ingredient is to have a framework for visitor management. Collaborative management is not a new approach and is the most recommended technique to achieve most management objectives within protected areas today. Collaborative management stands on the concept of "common good." Because it is a process, collaborative management requires on-going review and improvement. Its most important result is not a management plan but a management partnership that is capable of effectively responding to various needs and addressing boundless problems. In the Philippines where there is more uncertainty about protected areas management, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has the primary responsibility for the establishment and management of protected areas. The Quezon Memorial National Park, classified as a strictly protected area and whose management objectives are categorized as a national park, is one example. Two urban parks that originally formed part of QMNP are the subjects of this study. This research compares and evaluates the management schemes of these parks based on: (a) park management, (b) visitor management, and (c) biodiversity conservation against the criteria set by international and local guidelines. It also makes recommendations on how to effect changes in the management of these urban parks to achieve environmental conservation goals

Transforming Lives: An Evaluation of CRS Integrated Watershed Management Programs in Ethiopia

This is an evaluation of Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) activities in Ethiopia. WASH was integral to these projects, though it was not the only focus. The six major components of the IWM projects were natural resource management; agricultural support and agro-enterprise development; multiple uses of water; sanitation, hygiene and health education and disease prevention; savings and internal lending communities and income generation activities; and gender and partnership arrangements. The evaluation finds that the program made significant positive changes in the lives and livelihoods of rural households. However, budgeting, beneficiary targeting, and planning for sustainability and phase-out could have been improved

Molecular evidence of Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) establishment in Ethiopia

Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) is an Asian origin endo-larval parasitoid of cereal stemborers in the genera of Chilo, Sesamia and others. It was introduced into Kenya mainly for the control of Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from India, and North and South Pakistan. After introduction, the parasitoid was released in C. partellus prone areas of Eastern and Southern African countries. The establishment rate varies from country to country and region to region within the country. In Ethiopia, the parasitoid was not released, but for the first time recorded in 1999 as identified morphologically. Morphological traits in many instances lead to wrong taxonomic conclusion. Hence, molecular investigation was carried out to confirm whether the parasitoid recorded in Ethiopia is C. flavipes or not by running Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of DNA fragments of C. flavipes collected from Ethiopia and other African and Asian countries. The PCR analysis using 16S gene (primer) indicated that C. flavipes collected from Ethiopia had similar bands with C. flavipes from other countries confirming the correctness of the morphological traits used to identify the parasitoid. Hence, the parasitoid recorded in 1999 in Ethiopia was Cotesia flavipes which was established without release. To partition the differences that could exist among the different populations of C. flavipes and possibly trace the origin of Ethiopian population, advanced molecular techniques such as restricted fragment polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing will be recommended although the exercises are expensive

The Transforming Power of Urbanization: Changes and Uncertainties among the Farming Community in Laga Xafo-Laga Dadhi Town, Ethiopian

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Survey of antibiotic resistome in a mixed-use watershed in Western Newfoundland, Canada

Antibiotic production is a natural phenomenon employed by microorganisms to control their environment in stress situations. Thus, antibiotic resistance has evolved in parallel to counteract naturally produced antibiotics. On the other hand, excessive use of antibiotics by humans, either for protecting human or animal health, may induce unnaturally high antibiotic stresses leading to enhanced antibiotic resistance, the so-called acquired resistance. This study is the first to report an initial exploration into the distribution and quantification of antibiotic resistance genes, i.e. resistome, in a mixed-use watershed in Western Newfoundland, along the Humber river. The river was sampled along a gradient of increased human impact, mainly associated with the discharge of municipal wastewaters. The goals of my thesis were to (1) understand the relationship between human impact in the Humber river and the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment, and (2) understand the role of the river in mitigating the abundance of these resistance genes, if any role is present. Total DNA was extracted from the river water samples, sequenced by shotgun sequencing on an Illumina Hiseq platform with sequencing data quality controlled and cleaned at the sequencing facility via a QIIME pipeline, followed by identification and quantification of antibiotic resistance markers through a computational pipeline carried out in ShortBRED against a curated Antibiotic Resistance Genes Database (ARDB). About 400 antibiotic resistance genes, of variable abundance, were identified, distributed across the tested systems, an indication of the wide distribution of antibiotic resistance in the environment. This analysis revealed the distribution and abundance of Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) within the microbial population in the Humber River. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to quantify absolute (copies L⁻¹) and relative abundances (copies /16S rRNA) for TetO, TetM and AdeC genes. Relative abundance of ARGs (copies / 16S rRNA) was higher in the upstream locations versus downstream locations. The results showed evidence that anthropogenic impacts, especially associated with the use of antibiotics, led to an increase in the diversity and total abundance of antibiotic resistance markers in the Humber River

Comparative Studies of the Influence of Relative Humidity and Temperature on the Longevity and Fecundity of the Parasitoid, Cotesia flavipes

The parasitoid, Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), was introduced for biological control of the stemborer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), in eastern and southern African countries. The parasitoid became firmly established in Ethiopia, with varying density and distribution in various regions of the country indicating that there are factors regulating the success of the parasitoid. From previous studies, it was known that the population of the parasitoid released, the type of host, and temperature highly affect some of the biological parameters of the parasitoid. The current studies were undertaken to understand the individual and interactive effect of temperature and relative humidity on the longevity and fecundity of C. flavipes. The study was conducted on C. flavipes collected from the Melkassa Agricultural Research Center Experimental Field, Ethiopia. C. flavipes was reared in the laboratory on C. partellus feeding on pieces of sorghum stem. The longevity experiment was conducted at 10, 20, 30 and 40 °C, while the fecundity experiment was conducted at 20, 25, 28 and 30 °C. For both experiments 40–50%, 60–70% and 80–90% relative humidity regimes were used. The results obtained indicate that the interactive effect of temperature and relative humidity significantly affected the longevity, the number of oocytes, and fecundity of C. flavipes implying that the two factors play an important role in the success of the parasitoid as a biocontrol agent against C. partellus. The results obtained suggests the importance of the selection of target release sites for maximum efficiency of the parasitoid, which can have a positive impact on the on-going augmentative release of C. flavipes in Ethiopia

Assessment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diseases among Human Immunoeficiency Virus Positive Subjects Visiting Antiretroviral Therapy Clinic, Jimma University Specialized Hospital

Back ground: Tuberculosis has been a worldwide health problem mainly affecting developing countries. Dual infection of TB and HIV/AIDS exacerbate the burden of diseases among poor Sub-Saharan African countries, like Ethiopia. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of TB-HIV/AIDS co-infection among HIV patients visiting Jimma University Specialized Hospital, ART clinic. Methods: Facility based cross sectional study design was conducted. Well structural and pre tested questionnaires was used to assess the socio-demographic characteristics.  HIV/AIDS patients attending ART clinic treatment and CD4+ counts follow up was requested to bring sputum three times (spot-morning-spot). The sputum part smeared on slide and the rest added to sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for concentration. Both direct and concentrated sample stained by acid fast staining and examined 100X objectives (oil immersion). Results: Among 193 HIV patients signed consent form of participation only 157 were obtained morning sputum specimen.  The prevalence of Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) among HIV/AIDS patient in our study area were 9.6%. There is statistical significant associations between patients started ART treatments 3/156 (1.92%) and not started treatments 12/156 (7.7%) (Chi-square=3.88, p.value 0.049): besides, CD4 count above 200 cell/µl (0%) and less than 200 cells/µl 15/156 (9.6%) (Chi-square=4.59, p-value=0.000). There were no statistical clinical differences observed between direct smear and concentration techniques in our findings. Conclusion: In current study the prevalence of PTB among HIV/AIDS patients are high. The prevalence of PTB was observed among pre-ART patients.  CD4+ below 200/µl was showed positive effects to be infected with PTB.  Early detection of PTB among HIV patients will help to minimize the complication to be raised in association with immunodeficiency. Keywords: PTB, HIV, ART, AIDS

Factors Affecting Market Outlet Choice of Potato Producers in Eastern Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia

Selection of appropriate channel for delivering farm products is not an easy task. There are various constraints that limit households in choosing appropriate channels. In this regard, the current study was aimed at identifying factors affecting channel choice decisions of potato producers in Ethiopia. The analysis is based on primary data collected from 400 farm households selected from three randomly selected districts in eastern part of Oromiya region, Ethiopia. Multinomial logit model was employed for analyzing the data. The results indicated that farming experience, distance to the nearest market, access to market information, amount of potato sold, post-harvest value addition, and bargaining power of farmers affect channel choice decisions in one way or another. Putting in place and strengthening institutions that deliver timely and appropriate market information is among the major recommendations of this study.   Keywords: Channel choice decision, Ethiopia, Market outlets, Multinomial logit, Potato Value Chai

Efficacy of botanical extracts against termites on maize (Zea mays (L.)) under field condition in western Ethiopia

Maize (Zea mays L.) is grown popularly in the world. It is severely attacked by termites. Insecticides are widely used to control, but could not minimize termites’ damage mainly because of resistance development and easily break down of the active ingredients. Hence, field experiment was conducted with the aim of evaluating different botanical crude extracts from leaves of Croton macrostachys (Hochst), Jatropha curcas L. and Phytolacca dodecandra L. for the management of termites.  The experiment was conducted at Wollega University (wu) under irrigation and rain fed conditions. Leaves of the botanicals were collected from experimental sites in western Ethiopia and dried under shade. The dried leaves were grounded to a fine powder using a small hand-operated manual grinder and the powder was further sliced with analytical mill and sieved through a 0.25 mm pore size mesh to make uniform fine dust particle. The treatments were C. macrostachys, P. dodecandra, J. curcas, C. macrostachys + P. dodecandra, C. macrostachys +J. curcas, P. dodecandra + J. curcas, C. macrostachys + P. dodecandra + J. curcas. Untreated check was used for comparison. For treatment preparation, 300 g. of each botanical leaf powder was soaked in 1000 ml distilled water for 72 hrs. The mixtures were filtered with clean cheese cloth and stored in a beaker of 250 ml capacity. The experiment was laid-out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (rcbd) in four replications. Shallow holes for maize seed planting were prepared well ahead of planting on the experimental plots. From the stock solution of each botanical, 20 ml was drenched to each planting hole 10 days before planting and continued at all maize growth stages. Treatments were applied using 30 ml capacity Syringe. Data on termite damage symptoms were collected two days before planting and two days after treatment application at every growth stage. The results revealed that mixed botanicals treatments were significantly (p<0.05) superior to non-mixed botanical treatments in the management of termites. The highest number of foraging termites, galleries and mounds were recorded in the untreated check plot, while the lowest was recorded in the mixed botanical treatments. Moreover, the highest number of maize stand count, maize cobs and maize yield were recorded from plots that received mixed botanicals and the lowest were recorded from the untreated plot. In conclusion, mixtures of C. macrostachys, J. curcas and P. dodecandra can be used as part of an integrated termites’ management

Moth Species Diversity, Composition and Abundance in Different Land Use Types of Chebera Churchura National Park and its Surroundings, Southwestern Ethiopia

Land use change and habitat fragmentation affect biodiversity through an increasing level of disturbance and destruction of natural habitats. The present study is the first report on species diversity, species composition, and abundance of moth fauna in and around Chebera Churchura national park. During the survey from January to June 2021, 6206 specimens were collected from 105 species and 11 families from the 3 land use types. Based on the number of species, the family Erbidae is the most abundant with 41 species, and the family Pyraldae was the least abundant with one species. Based on the number of individuals, the family Crambidae was the most abundant, with 2,474 individuals, and the least was the family Pyraldae, with 10 individuals. The most abundant species was Cyligramma latona, and Cyana abyssinica was the least. Compared to the three land use types, riverine forest had the highest diversity, with 94 species and 3592 individuals, and mosaic habitat had the lowest, with 30 species and 971 individuals. Across the survey diversity indices, riverine forest had the highest Shannon value of 4, Simpson value of 0.98, and evenness value of 0.89, while mosaic habitat had the lowest Shannon value of 3, Simpson value of 0.94, and evenness value of 0.87. The Chi-square test results showed that the diversity of moths differed significantly between the three habitats. A month-wise comparison of moth abundance showed that January was the most abundant and the least was recorded in June. The highest similarity was found between riverine forest and wooded grassland; the least was between riverine forest and mosaic habitat. Generally, the habitat was good for moth and butterfly diversity