La formación profesional en el sector informal : una iniciativa empresarial innovadora para el desarrollo de Senegal

Los objetivos generales planteados en esta tesis doctoral son caracterizar al empresario del sector informal senegalés, analizar su nivel educativo y formativo, así como las necesidades de formación profesional demandadas como estrategia para la modernización del sector informal de Senegal. Esto permitirá identificar posibles déficits formativos y necesidades de intervención en este campo, comprobar si existen diferencias en las necesidades de formación, en función del nivel de importancia que el empresariado senegalés del sector informal otorga a la formación, con lo cual se puede obtener información que puede servir de base a las políticas formativas con un marcado carácter sectorial, y analizar si la innovación es un factor relevante para el empresariado. Se utilizan datos estadísticos de la Agence National de la Statistique et de la Démographie de Senegal y de otras bases de datos internacionales. Asimismo, se elabora un cuestionario dirigido al empresariado senegalés del sector informal. La población objeto de estudio es el conjunto de empresas del sector informal de Senegal ubicadas en las regiones de Dakar y Diourbel y, dentro de ellas, las empresas situadas en Dakar y Touba porque en estas dos ciudades se desarrolla la mayor parte de las actividades empresariales del país. Se presentan los resultados globales de forma descriptiva y, posteriormente, se desagregan estos resultados en función del nivel de importancia que el empresariado senegalés otorga a la formación. Además, se aplica un análisis de regresión logística que permite caracterizar al empresariado del sector informal. Por último, se presenta una serie de recomendaciones dirigidas a mejorar la formación profesional y la situación de las empresas del sector informal con su entorno.The general objectives outlined in this doctoral thesis are to characterize the Senegalese informal sector entrepreneur, to analyze his/her educational and training level, as well as the professional training needs demanded as a strategy for the modernization of the informal sector in Senegal. This will make it possible to identify possible training deficits and intervention needs in this field, to check if there are differences in training needs, according to the level of importance that Senegalese entrepreneur in the informal sector gives to training, with the result that information can be obtained that can be used as a basis for training policies with a marked sectoral nature, and analyze whether innovation is a relevant factor for the entrepreneur. Statistical data from the National Agency of Statistics and Demography of Senegal and other international databases are used. Likewise, a questionnaire is prepared for Senegalese entrepreneur of the informal sector. The population under study is the set of companies in the informal sector of Senegal located in the regions of Dakar and Diourbel and, within them, the companies located in Dakar and Touba because most of the business activities of the country are carried out in these two cities. The overall results are presented in a descriptive way and, subsequently, these results are disaggregated according to the level of importance that Senegalese entrepreneur gives to training. In addition, a logistic regression analysis is applied to characterize the informal sector entrepreneur. Finally, a series of recommendations are presented aimed at improving professional training and the situation of companies in the informal sector with their environment

Woody plant cover estimation in drylands from Earth Observation based seasonal metrics

peer reviewedFrom in situ measured woody cover we develop a phenology driven model to estimate the canopy cover of woody species in the Sahelian drylands at 1 km scale. The model estimates the total canopy cover of all woody phanerophytes and the concept is based on the significant difference in phenophases of dryland trees, shrubs and bushes as compared to that of the herbaceous plants. Whereas annual herbaceous plants are only green during the rainy season and senescence occurs shortly after flowering towards the last rains, most woody plants remain photosynthetically active over large parts of the year. We use Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Satellite pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) — VEGETATION (VGT) Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) time series and test 10 metrics representing the annual FAPAR dynamics for their ability to reproduce in situ woody cover at 43 sites (163 observations between 1993 and 2013) in the Sahel. Both multi-year field data and satellite metrics are averaged to produce a steady map. Multiple regression models using the integral of FAPAR from the onset of the dry season to the onset of the rainy season, the start date of the growing season and the rate of decrease of the FAPAR curve achieve a cross validated r2/RMSE (in % woody cover) of 0.73/3.0 (MODIS) and 0.70/3.2 (VGT). The extrapolation to Sahel scale shows agreement between VGT and MODIS at an almost nine times higher woody cover than in the global tree cover product MOD44B which only captures trees of a certain minimum size. The derived woody cover map of the Sahel is made publicly available and represents an improvement of existing products and a contribution for future studies of drylands quantifying carbon stocks, climate change assessment, as well as parametrization of vegetation dynamic models

The contribution of trees outside of forests to landscape carbon and climate change mitigation in West Africa

While closed canopy forests have been an important focal point for land cover change monitoring and climate change mitigation, less consideration has been given to methods for large scale measurements of trees outside of forests. Trees outside of forests are an important but often overlooked natural resource throughout sub-Saharan Africa, providing benefits for livelihoods as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this study, the development of an individual tree cover map using very high-resolution remote sensing and a comparison with a new automated machine learning mapping product revealed an important contribution of trees outside of forests to landscape tree cover and carbon stocks in a region where trees outside of forests are important components of livelihood systems. Here, we test and demonstrate the use of allometric scaling from remote sensing crown area to provide estimates of landscape-scale carbon stocks. Prominent biomass and carbon maps from global-scale remote sensing greatly underestimate the “invisible” carbon in these sparse tree-based systems. The measurement of tree cover and carbon in these landscapes has important application in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.The Land Cover and Land Use Change (LCLUC) Program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA. The APC was funded by NASA and Michigan State University.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forestsam202

Estimation of herbaceous fuel moisture content using vegetation indices and land surface temperature from MODIS data

The monitoring of herbaceous fuel moisture content is a crucial activity in order to assess savanna fire risks. Faced with the difficulty of managing wide areas of vegetated surfaces, remote sensing appears an attractive alternative for terrestrial measurements because of its advantages related to temporal resolution and spatial coverage. Earth observation (EO)-based vegetation indices (VIs) and the ratio between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and surface temperature (ST) were used for assessment of herbaceous fuel moisture content estimates and validated against herbaceous data collected in 2010 at three open savanna sites located in Senegal, West Africa. EO-based estimates of water content were more consistent with the use of VI as compared to the ratio NDVI/ST. Different VIs based on near-infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance were tested and a consistent relationship was found between field measurements of leaf equivalent water thickness (EWT) from all test sites and Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII), Global Vegetation Moisture Index (GVMI) and Moisture Stress Index (MSI). Also, strong relationships were found between fuel moisture content (FMC) and VIs for the sites separately; however, they were weaker for the pooled data. The correlations between EWT/FMC and VIs were found to decrease progressively as the woody cover increased. Although these results suggest that NIR and SWIR reflectance can be used for the estimation of herbaceous water content, additional validation from an increased number of study sites is necessary to study the robustness of such indices for a larger variety of savanna vegetation types

Composition floristique et dynamique du parc agroforestier à Cordyla pinnata (Lepr. ex A. Rich.) Milne-Redh. dans le Sud du Bassin Arachidier (Sénégal)

Les parcs agroforestiers, dans le Sud du Bassin Arachidier du Sénégal, revêtent une grande importance pour les populations locales. Ils contribuent à l’atténuation des changements climatiques par leur capacité de séquestration du carbone. Cependant, ils connaissent une dégradation progressive de leur peuplement. L’analyse des images satellites et l’inventaire des parcs agroforestiers des sites de Keur Samba Guèye et de Santhie Rame, ont permis de déterminer la flore de la végétation ligneuse des parcs et d’établir la densité, la structure actuelle et les tendances évolutives des individus de Cordyla pinnata. La flore ligneuse des parcs agroforestiers des sites comporte 35 espèces réparties en 34 genres et 18 familles. La structure des parcs est caractérisée par une abondance d’individus (96,07%) dans les grandes classes de diamètre ([30-85 cm [) et une régénération naturelle limitée à nulle avec une faiblesse des densités réelles (moins de 4 individus.ha-1). Les résultats de cette étude devraient aider à dégager des axes de conservation et de réhabilitation des parcs agroforestiers à C. pinnata.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Flore, végétation ligneuse, structure, dynamique, parc agroforestier, SénégalEnglish Title: Floristic composition and dynamics of Cordyla pinnata (Lepr. ex A. Rich.) Milne-Redh. agroforestry parkland of Senegal’s South Peanut BasinEnglish AbstractThe agroforestry parklands, located in the Southern Peanut Basin, are of great importance for rural population. They play a key role in the context of mitigating climate change by its capability of sequestering carbon. Nonetheless, agroforestry parkland systems are characterized by a progressive degradation. Analysis of satellite imagery and parklands’ trees inventory, carried out and applied to the sites of Keur Samba Gueye and Santhie Rame, provided information on parklands’ diversity of floristic composition and assessment of the density, structural characteristics and dynamics of C. pinnata trees. The ligneous flora of the parklands in these sites is composed of 35 species within 34 genera and 18 families. The structure of the parklands is characterized by a great dominance of individuals (96.07%) belonging to 30 to 85 cm diameter range with a low tree density (less than 4 trees.ha-1) and a limited to no natural regeneration. All these results should help to advocate for sustainable management of C. pinnata agroforestry parklands.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Flora, ligneous vegetation, structure, dynamic, agroforestry parklands, Senega

Exploring wildfire occurrence : local farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies in Central Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa

AVAILABILITY OF DATA : The dataset generated and analysed during the current study is available in the Mendeley repository: [https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/mvttmyrcz7/2].Wildfires are an important ecological threat in Côte d’Ivoire with the northern half the most affected zone. This study assessed farmers’ perception of wildfire occurrence in the N’Zi River Watershed and compared this perception to remotely sensed fire data trends. To this end, 259 farmers were individually interviewed and 18 farmers were involved in three focus group discussions in three agro-ecological zones. A combination of descriptive statistics and regression analysis was used for data analysis. Results showed that 78.75% of farmers observed the upward trend in the annual wildfire activity identified by remote sensing data during 2001–2016. Most of the respondents identified hunting (65.83%), farm establishment (50%) and firebreaks establishment (46.67%) as main causes of wildfires. The perceived impacts of wildfires included immediate crop burning, crop growth delaying, mid-term post-fire crop destruction, destruction of material goods and loss of human life. Local population developed endogenous strategies to cope with this scourge. Amongst identified coping strategies, firebreaks establishment and maintenance around new clearings and farms and prohibition of fire-hunting during the dry season were highlighted. Therefore, policies and institutions that support local wildfires management initiatives must take advantage of the strong community knowledge and networks to strengthen their effectiveness and sustainability.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjsf20hj2023Future Afric

What four decades of earth observation tell us about land degradation in the Sahel?

The assessment of land degradation and the quantification of its effects on land productivity have been both a scientific and political challenge. After four decades of Earth Observation (EO) applications, little agreement has been gained on the magnitude and direction of land degradation in the Sahel. The large number of EO datasets and methods associated with the complex interactions among biophysical and social drivers of ecosystem changes make it difficult to apply aggregated EO indices for these non-linear processes. Hence, while many studies stress that the Sahel is greening, others indicate no trend or browning. The different generations of sensors, the granularity of studies, the study period, the applied indices and the assumptions and/or computational methods impact these trends. Consequently, many uncertainties exist in regression models between rainfall, biomass and various indices that limit the ability of EO science to adequately assess and develop a consistent message on the magnitude of land degradation. We suggest several improvements: (1) harmonize time-series data, (2) promote knowledge networks, (3) improve data-access, (4) fill data gaps, (5) agree on scales and assumptions, (6) set up a denser network of long-term field-surveys and (7) consider local perceptions and social dynamics. To allow multiple perspectives and avoid erroneous interpretations, we underline that EO results should not be interpreted without contextual knowledge

Interacting regional-scale regime shifts for biodiversity and ecosystem services

Current trajectories of global change may lead to regime shifts at regional scales, driving coupled human–environment systems to highly degraded states in terms of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being. For business-as-usual socioeconomic development pathways, regime shifts are projected to occur within the next several decades, to be difficult to reverse, and to have regional- to global-scale impacts on human society. We provide an overview of ecosystem, socioeconomic, and biophysical mechanisms mediating regime shifts and illustrate how these interact at regional scales by aggregation, synergy, and spreading processes. We give detailed examples of interactions for terrestrial ecosystems of central South America and for marine and coastal ecosystems of Southeast Asia. This analysis suggests that degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services over the twenty-first century could be far greater than was previously predicted. We identify key policy and management opportunities at regional to global scales to avoid these shifts

Chapter 5: Food Security

The current food system (production, transport, processing, packaging, storage, retail, consumption, loss and waste) feeds the great majority of world population and supports the livelihoods of over 1 billion people. Since 1961, food supply per capita has increased more than 30%, accompanied by greater use of nitrogen fertilisers (increase of about 800%) and water resources for irrigation (increase of more than 100%). However, an estimated 821 million people are currently undernourished, 151 million children under five are stunted, 613 million women and girls aged 15 to 49 suffer from iron deficiency, and 2 billion adults are overweight or obese. The food system is under pressure from non-climate stressors (e.g., population and income growth, demand for animal-sourced products), and from climate change. These climate and non-climate stresses are impacting the four pillars of food security (availability, access, utilisation, and stability)