Institutions, sustainable land use and consumer welfare: the case of forest and grazing lands in northern Ethiopia

Land is an essential factor of production. Institutions that govern its efficient use determine the sustainability of this essential resource. In Ethiopia all land is publicly owned. Such an institutional setting is said to have resulted in the major degradation of Ethiopia's land resources and dissipation of the resource rent. An alternative to this is assigning a private property institution. In this paper, we examine the consumer welfare effects of a change in the institutional setting on communal forest and grazing lands, using a cross-section data set of 200 households in Northern Ethiopia. Findings suggest that changing the current institutional setting could indeed be welfare reducin

Households Willingness to Pay for Improved Urban Solid Waste Management: The Case of Mekelle City, Ethiopia

Cities in developing countries experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth too often lack the financial resources and institutional capacity to provide needed municipal infrastructure for adequate solid waste management, despite citizens’ demand for it. This paper uses a cross-sectional survey of 226 randomly selected households in Mekelle city, Ethiopia, to assess the current municipal sanitary fees and the willingness to pay (WTP) of residents for improved urban waste management, and suggest mechanisms for cost recovery. We used Tobit and probit models in the empirical analysis to determine the factors that influence households’ WTP for improved solid waste management. Results reveal that residents’ WTP for improved solid waste management is significantly related to income and awareness of environmental quality, among other factors. The results suggest that the current city fee for sanitation is far below the WTP of the residents. The mean WTP we found can be a guide for municipal officials in setting a more appropriate fee that can finance improvements in city solid waste management, where all households receive collection services, waste is disposed of properly, and recycling features are added.Keywords: Urban waste management, willingness to pay, cost recovery, Ethiopia, citiesJEL Classification: D13, Q51, Q5

Soil Transmitted Helminths and Associated Factors among Schoolchildren in Government and Private Primary School in Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Soil transmitted helminth infections are among the most common human infections. They are distributed throughout the world with high prevalence rates in tropical and sub-tropical countries mainly because of lack of adequate sanitary facilities, inappropriate waste disposal systems, lack of safe water supply, and low socio- economic status.Methods: A comparative cross sectional study was conducted from December 2011 to June 2012 to determine and assess the prevalence of soil transmitted helminths and their associated factors among government and private primary school children. Stool samples were collected from 369 randomly selected children and examined microscopically for eggs of soil transmitted helminth following McMaster techniques. Soil samples were collected from different parts of the school compound and microscopic examination was performed for eggs of the helminths using sodium nitrate flotation technique.Results: The overall prevalence rate of soil transmitted helminth infections in private and government schools was 20.9% and 53.5% respectively. T. trichiura was the most common soil transmitted helminth in both schools while hookworm infections were identified in government school students only. Type of school and sex were significantly associated with soil transmitted helminth. Soil contamination rate of the school compounds was 11.25% with predominant parasites of A. lumbricoides.Conclusion: Higher prevalence of soil transmitted helminth infection was found among government school students. Thus, more focus, on personal hygiene and sanitary facilities, should be given to children going to government schools.Keywords: Soil transmitted helminths, school children, government and private school

Promoting landscape restoration and water harvesting at scale: The case of Africa RISING project, Ethiopia

United States Agency for International Developmen

Larvicidal effects of Jatropha curcas L. against Anopheles arabiensis (Diptera: Culicidea)

Crude and column chromatographic fractions of methanol leaf extract of Jatropha curcas were tested for their larvicidal activities against laboratory reared late third instar larvae of Anopheles arabiensis. Crude methanol leaf extract of J .curcas had similar larvicidal activity to 0.5 ppm Temephos (positive control) at test concentrations ranging from 125 -1000 ppm while column chromatographic fractions (F1 and F2 ) of the crude methanol leaf extract of J.curcas showed similar larvicidal activities to 0.5 ppm Temephos at 62.5 and 125 ppm test concentrations. Column chromatographic fraction three (F3) showed similar larvicidal activity to 0.5 ppm Temephos at 125 ppm test concentration. The LC50 and LC90 values of crude methanol leaf extract of J.curcas were found to be 92.09 and 241.09 ppm, respectively. Toxic activities of column chromatographic fraction one (F1) (LC50=28.65 ppm; LC90 = 49.20 ppm) were nearly equal to that of column chromatographic fraction two [F2] (LC50= 30.40 ppm; LC90 = 49.80 ppm). Least toxicity on the test larvae was observed by column chromatographic fraction three [F3] (LC50 = 80.70 ppm; LC90 = 123.70 ppm). Thus, the larvicidal activity of crude methanol leaf extract was not due to the synergistic effects of its fractions. Further studies are recommended to identify larvicidal active ingredients from the active column chromatographic fractions of crude methanol leaf extract of J. curcas. Key words: Malaria vector control, Anopheles arabiensis, Botanical larvicides J. curca

Assessment of geomagnetic storm effects over Ethiopian ionosphere by using GPS measurements

197-209In this paper we have investigated the effects of geomagnetic storm on the variation of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF Bz), disturbance storm time (Dst), solar wind speed and total electron content (TEC) over Ethiopian ionosphere. A total of 17 geomagnetic storms have analysed by using ground based Global Positioning System (GPS) stations at Bahir Dar (11o N, 38o E), Debark(4.32o N, 109.48o E), Armi (3.03o N, 109.29o E), Nazret (8.57o N, 39.29o E), Robe(7.60o N, 40oE), Assosa (1.14o N, 106.16o E), and Ambo( 8.59o N, 37.51o E) from the years 2010 to 2013. The results have revealed that there is a mixed effect of geomagnetic storm on the variation of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF Bz), disturbance storm time (Dst), solar wind speed and total electron content (TEC), however, most of the effects were positive and might be attributed to the prompt penetration electric fields (PPEFs) and disturbed dynamo fields

Analysis of combined and isolated effects of land-use and land-cover changes and climate change on the upper Blue Nile River basin's streamflow

Understanding responses by changes in land use and land cover (LULC) and climate over the past decades on streamflow in the upper Blue Nile River basin is important for water management and water resource planning in the Nile basin at large. This study assesses the long-term trends of rainfall and streamflow and analyses the responses of steamflow to changes in LULC and climate in the upper Blue Nile River basin. Findings of the Mann–Kendall (MK) test indicate statistically insignificant increasing trends for basin-wide annual, monthly, and long rainy-season rainfall but no trend for the daily, short rainy-season, and dry season rainfall. The Pettitt test did not detect any jump point in basin-wide rainfall series, except for daily time series rainfall. The findings of the MK test for daily, monthly, annual, and seasonal streamflow showed a statistically significant increasing trend. Landsat satellite images for 1973, 1985, 1995, and 2010 were used for LULC change-detection analysis. The LULC change-detection findings indicate increases in cultivated land and decreases in forest coverage prior to 1995, but forest area increases after 1995 with the area of cultivated land that decreased. Statistically, forest coverage changed from 17.4&thinsp;% to 14.4%, by 12.2&thinsp;%, and by 15.6&thinsp;%, while cultivated land changed from 62.9&thinsp;% to 65.6&thinsp;%, by 67.5&thinsp;%, and by 63.9&thinsp;% from 1973 to 1985, in 1995, and in 2010, respectively. Results of hydrological modelling indicate that mean annual streamflow increased by 16.9&thinsp;% between the 1970s and 2000s due to the combined effects of LULC and climate change. Findings on the effects of LULC change on only streamflow indicate that surface runoff and base flow are affected and are attributed to the 5.1&thinsp;% reduction in forest coverage and a 4.6&thinsp;% increase in cultivated land areas. The effects of climate change only revealed that the increased rainfall intensity and number of extreme rainfall events from 1971 to 2010 significantly affected the surface runoff and base flow. Hydrological impacts by climate change are more significant as compared to the impacts of LULC change for streamflow of the upper Blue Nile River basin.</p