Implementation of a sustainable project in the Tanbi Wetland Complex, Banjul (The Gambia)

The aim of this on-going study is creating a design for a boardwalk that is part of an ecotouristic project in the Tanbi Wetland National Park (TWNP). This mangrove area is located adjacent to the capital of The Gambia, Banjul. The nature reserve was listed as a Ramsar site in 2007 (an "Area of International Importance") but it is under great human pressure, such as through the dumping of municipal waste in the mangrove swamps, the erosion of banks by speedboats from tourist water sports, etc. In this way, the mangrove habitats are degraded and can even be destroyed.The entire project is supported by the City of Ostend, which has a city link with Banjul since 2003. As the City of Ostend co-finances the entire project, a cost calculation will be carried out.The boardwalk project aims at creating awareness, both for the people of Banjul and for tourists visiting Gambia. Eco-education also plays an important role in this process; local students can visit the TWNP and learn about the mangroves and their importance. The TWNP is located close to hotels and tourist areas in Banjul. The local boats could be used for excursions in the small creeks, combined with the boardwalk-excursion. Guided tours by local inhabitants make visitors aware of the problems affecting the nature reserve.The project includes a pedestrian walk-on bridge with a length of approximately one kilometer, two observation towers that can be used by birdwatchers, a platform where oyster women can prepare local products for visitors, a pontoon for moor canoes, etc. Another proposition is to build an openair museum, the “Sea Life Center”, located in seven different huts across the entire boardwalk. It portrays the different habitats and their ecological and socio-ecological components present in and around the mangrove.During the calculation of the wood structure the Belgian standards (NBN) and Eurocode (EC) were followed where possible. The Australian standards (AUS) were also consulted, in contrast to the Belgian standards, they have standards specifically for boardwalks. These standards are used when designing constructions. Design values were obtained from tests carried out according to the standard. We drew every boardwalk model using Google Sketchup Pro 7.1, a 3D software tool.During a 5-week stay in Banjul in January-February 2011, the mangrove area will be mapped using a surveying device. The Trimble Pathfinder Pro XRT equipped with an OmniSTAR license allows measurements with an accuracy up to 20 centimeters. Based on the maps that were made, implementation plans are composed, making construction possible by the inhabitants of Banjul

Distribution, status, and biology of the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin, <i>Sousa teuszii</i> (Kükenthal, 1892)

The distribution, status, and biology of the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii) is critically reviewed, and results of recent research are discussed. The species’ known distribution limits are, in the north, Dahkla Bay (23º50’N), Western Sahara, and in the south, Tombua (15º47’S), southern Angola. Its habitat is predominantly inshore coastal and estuarine, over soft-sediment bottoms. There is no evidence that it might occur beyond the brackish waters of estuaries into a riverine, fresh-water habitat. There are no records for the Senegal, Casamance, and Niger Rivers. A total of eight stocks are provisionally discerned for management purposes. Six of these are confirmed-contemporary (based on recent records), including Dahkla Bay, Banc d’Arguin, Saloum-Niumi, Canal do Gêba-Bijagos, South Guinea, and Angola. Two stocks, the Cameroon Estuary and Gabon, are historical, and new fieldwork needs to confirm their current presence. No inference is made on degree of reproductive isolation and biological population status of any named stock. The potential existence of a western Togo stock is currently under study. Nine coastal states, including Morocco (Western Sahara), Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea- Conakry, Cameroon, Gabon, and Angola are confirmed range states. While historically distribution may have been quasi-continuous over the species’ range, indications of contemporary distribution gaps are emerging. Ongoing monitoring of cetacean takes in coastal fisheries off western Ghana, and experimental whale-watching sorties in Bénin have not yielded a single record. The species has either become rare through human-related pressures or, less likely, it never lived there. For most other areas there is little, if any, information due to the lack of research

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran