Integrated process for sustainable agro-process waste treatment and climate change mitigation in Eastern Africa

Research Article published by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) November 2011Eastern Africa countries are faced with similar development challenges including high population growth rate, low agricultural productivity, increasing number of agro-processing industries, pollution and contamination of water sources by agro-processing industrial wastes, inadequate energy supplies and climate change effects such as extreme drought and flooding. It is therefore imperative to address these challenges in an integrated and regional manner, in which key stakeholders including the public and private sectors are actively engaged. The goal of this Consortium is to contribute to climate change mitigation, environmental sustainability, and agricultural development by applying strategic waste management innovation systems in Eastern Africa (focussing on Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda). Specifically the project aims to: (1) Strengthen capacity to sustainably manage agro-process wastewater in Eastern Africa; (2) Develop and optimize innovative wastewater treatment processes integrating biogas production and water/nutrient reuse for enhanced industrial and agricultural productivity in Eastern Africa and; (3) Evaluate and disseminate the economic, environmental and social benefits of the integrated wastewater treatment bioprocesses. We will achieve our objectives by use of appropriate technologies that will be designed, developed and optimized to achieve: (1) better treatment of agro-process wastewaters (slaughterhouse, tannery and Banana wine processing wastewaters) in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania, respectively and; (2) generation of useable by-products such as biogas, bio-fertilizers, and agricultural products (vegetables, flowers, animal feed/pasture grass) from wastewater treatment processes. Through this integrated wastewater treatment approach, we will contribute to environmental, social and economic development of Eastern African countries including reduction in pollution and contamination of water sources receiving agro-processing wastewaters, reduction in incidences of water related diseases such as diarrhoea, reductions in emission of greenhouse gases (GHG); generation of renewable energy source (biogas), slow down the rate of deforestation for firewood and charcoal, reduce indoor air pollution (IAP) and respiratory diseases since Biogas burns smoke free, and improve agricultural productivity by provision bio-fertilizers. The proposed Consortium hinges on lessons learned from the successes and challenges of previous SIDA/SAREC projects in Eastern Africa, especially BIO-EARN programme phase 3 which carried out treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater at City Abattoir (Uganda) and tannery wastewater at Modjo Tannery (Ethiopia). Whereas the project treated these industrial wastewaters, they were not economically sustainable because they did not addvalue to wastes by integrating hydroponic systems for vegetables and flowers cultivation, production of useable byproducts such as biogas and bio-fertilizers into the treatment process to make it sustainable. The proposed Environmental Innovation Project Consortium II comprises of scientists from Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSP) & Constructed Wetland Research and Development group (University of Dar Es Salaam - UDSM), Department of Biochemistry (Makerere University - MAK), School of Graduate Studies University of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia - AAU), National University of Rwanda (NUR), and AKUT Burkard and Partner (Germany, www.akut-umwelt.de, AKUT). The private sector partners involved in this consortium include Bassajabalaba Hides and Skins - City Abattoir (Uganda), Modjo Tannery, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and Banana Investments Ltd, Arusha, (Tanzania). Each scientific partner contributes technical skills, experiences and synergies to the Consortium: UDSM has engineers with technical experiences in constructed wetland technologies; AKUT Partner has experience in designing and installation of industrial scale biogas digester plants; MAK and AAU have experiences in operation of reactors and constructed wetlands treating slaughterhouse and tannery wastewaters, respectively. On the other hand, Bassajabalaba Hides and Skins, City Abattoir (Uganda) and Modjo, Tannery (Ethiopia) both have over four years (2006-2010) experience in operation of integrated technologies treating high strength slaughterhouse and tannery wastewaters, respectively, under the SIDA/SAREC supported BIO-EARN project. Whereas Banana Investments Ltd, Arusha (Tanzania) have not participated in similar arrangements, they have committed strong technical, financial and in kind support towards the success of the proposed Consortium project. The proposed Consortium project is anticipated to run on budget of USD 1,199,684 over a period of three years (2011 -2013)

Developing a psychotropic medication education group on a secure ward for men with intellectual disabilities

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish and evaluate a psychotropic medication education group for men with intellectual disability on a secure psychiatric ward. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-disciplinary team was convened to oversee the project. A curriculum was developed that covered major classes of psychotropic drugs as well as broader themes related to taking medication and general wellbeing. Each group session incorporated a range of teaching methods supported by accessible materials. Evaluation was by qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings: There was interest and enthusiasm for the group. Participant feedback was generally positive and most of those who completed the group reported achieving their personal learning goals. There was no significant difference in results of a medication knowledge test at baseline and at the end of the course. Feedback from group members and reflections of the course facilitators are discussed. Research limitations/implications: The results of this small-scale study may not be applicable to other groups or settings. Evaluation measures seemed unable to capture some elements of the group processes and outcomes. Practical implications: Establishing and running a psychoeducational group on a low-secure ward for men with intellectual disabilities is possible and potentially valuable. Learning from this project will be useful for others considering group-based interventions for people with intellectual disability. Originality/value: This paper adds to the limited literature describing interventions to improve medication knowledge in people with intellectual disability

Accuracy of five algorithms to diagnose gambiense human African trypanosomiasis.

Algorithms to diagnose gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) are often complex due to the unsatisfactory sensitivity and/or specificity of available tests, and typically include a screening (serological), confirmation (parasitological) and staging component. There is insufficient evidence on the relative accuracy of these algorithms. This paper presents estimates of the accuracy of five algorithms used by past Médecins Sans Frontières programmes in the Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan and Uganda

A synthesis of past, current and future research for protection and management of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) wetlands in Africa

Papyrus wetlands (dominated by the giant sedge Cyperus papyrus L.) occur throughout eastern, central and southern Africa and are important for biodiversity, for water quality and quantity regulation and for the livelihoods of millions of people. To draw attention to the importance of papyrus wetlands, a special session entitled ‘‘The ecology of livelihoods in papyrus wetlands’’ was organized at the 9th INTECOL Wetlands Conference in Orlando, Florida in June 2012. Papers from the session, combined with additional contributions, were collected in a special issue of Wetlands Ecology and Management. The current paper reviews ecological and hydrological characteristics of papyrus wetlands, summarizes their ecosystem services and sustainable use, provides an overview of papyrus research to date, and looks at policy development for papyrus wetlands. Based on this review, the paper provides a synthesis of research and policy priorities for papyrus wetlands and introduces the contributions in the special issue. Main conclusions are that (1) there is a need for better estimates of the area covered by papyrus wetlands. Limited evidence suggests that the loss of papyrus wetlands is rapid in some areas; (2) there is a need for a better understanding and modelling of the regulating services of papyrus wetlands to support trade-off analysis and improve economic valuation; (3) research on papyrus wetlands should include assessment of all ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, habitat, cultural) so that trade-offs can be determined as the basis for sustainable management strategies (‘wise use’); (4) more research on the governance, institutional and socio-economic aspects of papyrus wetlands is needed to assist African governments in dealing with the challenges of conserving wetlands in the face of growing food security needs and climate change. The papers in the special issue address a number of these issues

Preclinical Assessment of the Treatment of Second-Stage African Trypanosomiasis with Cordycepin and Deoxycoformycin

There is an urgent need to substitute the highly toxic arsenic compounds still in use for treatment of the encephalitic stage of African trypanosomiasis, a disease caused by infection with Trypanosoma brucei. We exploited the inability of trypanosomes to engage in de novo purine synthesis as a therapeutic target. Cordycepin was selected from a trypanocidal screen of a 2200-compound library. When administered together with the adenosine deaminase inhibitor deoxycoformycin, cordycepin cured mice inoculated with the human pathogenic subspecies T. brucei rhodesiense or T. brucei gambiense even after parasites had penetrated into the brain. Successful treatment was achieved by intraperitoneal, oral or subcutaneous administration of the compounds. Treatment with the doublet also diminished infection-induced cerebral inflammation. Cordycepin induced programmed cell death of the parasites. Although parasites grown in vitro with low doses of cordycepin gradually developed resistance, the resistant parasites lost virulence and showed no cross-resistance to trypanocidal drugs in clinical use. Our data strongly support testing cordycepin and deoxycoformycin as an alternative for treatment of second-stage and/or melarsoprol-resistant HAT

Diagnostic Accuracy of Molecular Amplification Tests for Human African Trypanosomiasis—Systematic Review

A range of molecular amplification techniques has been developed for the diagnosis of HAT, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at the forefront. As laboratory strengthening in endemic areas increases, it is expected that the applicability of molecular tests will increase. However, careful evaluation of these tests against the current reference standard, microscopy, must precede implementation. Therefore, we have investigated the published diagnostic accuracy of molecular amplification tests for HAT compared to microscopy for both initial diagnosis as well as for disease staging

Wetlands for wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling of treated effluent : a review

Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used

Buffering Capacity Studies in a Rural and Urban Wetlands in Lake Victoria Catchment in Uganda

Wetlands are known to filter water from catchments by retaining solid waste, and eroded sediments from catchment areas. Wetlands also reduce the impact of flooding, speed of flow, and hence store water while releasing it slowly. The extent to which the wetlands perform these roles was investigated in two wetlands, Kinawataka wetland with an industrial and heavily populated catchment, and Kisoma wetland with subsistence agricultural catchment between January 1999 to July 2001. Water samples were collected once a month from streams entering the wetlands, along transects within the wetland and at the out flow. Parameters investigated included pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electric conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), orthophosphates, Total Phosphorus (TP), nitrates, Total Nitrogen (TN) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Results showed that the urban Kinawataka wetland receives a lot of pollution from its catchment and this is considerably reduced as the water move through it to the out flow. Reductions of TN by 50% and TP by only 10% were noted. The rural Kisoma wetland however receives fewer nutrients from its catchment but releases more in its out flow. There were increases in orthophosphates to about 50%, TP to 40% and nitrates to 22%. In situations where large volumes of water was received especially after a heavy storm or during floods, the wetland capacity to buffer was impaired and the materials from the catchment would pass through it unbuffered. It is suggested that wetland buffering depends on the amount of nutrients and water inflow from the catchment, the wetland-slope, nature of the vegetation, size of the wetland, catchment rainfall and anthropogenic characteristics. The conditions within the wetlands modify the nature of the nutrients as the water flow through them.Key words: Buffering capacity, wetland buffering, catchment, reservoir, nutrient