Solar or Diesel: A Comparison of Costs for Groundwater‐Fed Irrigation in Sub‐Saharan Africa Under Two Energy Solutions

Sub-Saharan Africa has long been beset with food insecurity and energy poverty. Expanding irrigated agriculture can help boost food production in the region, but this requires energy for accessing water, especially in groundwater-fed irrigation. This paper compared economic performance of groundwater pumping for irrigation under two energy solutions: solar photovoltaic (PV) and diesel fuel. We estimated the life-cycle costs of the power units of two pumping systems for a range of crop and irrigation method scenarios and mapped their relative cost-effectiveness over cropland in sub-Saharan Africa. As a renewable and clean energy source, solar energy has attracted much attention and there is keen interest in investing in solar PV to support the development of irrigated agriculture. Results of this study provide insights into the prospects of promoting solar irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa

Calibration and evaluation of a semi-distributed watershed model of Sub-Saharan Africa using GRACE data

International audienceIrrigation development is rapidly expanding inmostly rainfed Sub-Saharan Africa. This expansion underscoresthe need for a more comprehensive understandingof water resources beyond surface water. Gravity Recoveryand Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites provide valuableinformation on spatio-temporal variability in water storage.The objective of this study was to calibrate and evaluatea semi-distributed regional-scale hydrologic model basedon the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) code forbasins in Sub-Saharan Africa using seven-year (July 2002–April 2009) 10-day GRACE data and multi-site river dischargedata. The analysis was conducted in a multi-criteriaframework. In spite of the uncertainty arising from the tradeoffin optimising model parameters with respect to two noncommensurablecriteria defined for two fluxes, SWAT wasfound to perform well in simulating total water storage variabilityin most areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, which havesemi-arid and sub-humid climates, and that among variouswater storages represented in SWAT, water storage variationsin soil, vadose zone and groundwater are dominant. Thestudy also showed that the simulated total water storage variationstend to have less agreement with GRACE data in aridand equatorial humid regions, and model-based partitioningof total water storage variations into different water storagecompartments may be highly uncertain. Thus, future workwill be needed for model enhancement in these areas with inferiormodel fit and for uncertainty reduction in componentwiseestimation of water storage variations

Temperature-Dependent Reproductive Success of Stickleback Lateral Plate Morphs: Implications for Population Polymorphism and Range Shifts Under Ocean Warming

Changing environments associated with rapid climate change can shape direct measures of fitness such as reproductive success by altering mating behavior, fecundity and offspring development. Using a polymorphic oceanic population of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we investigated whether a 4�°C increase in sea surface temperature influenced clutch siring success, reproductive output, and offspring growth among lateral plate morphs. Since low plated morphs are thought to have a selective advantage in warmer environments, we predicted that low plated males should have higher clutch siring success in +4�°C environments, and that thermal plasticity of traits (e.g., egg size, offspring growth) should reflect different trait optima in different environments among plate morphs. Parentage analysis of egg clutches revealed temperature-specific clutch siring success, in that low plated males sired more clutches in +4�°C environments and completely plated males sired more clutches at ambient (seasonal) temperature. Both completely and low plated females laid larger eggs when acclimated to +4�°C, but only completely plated females had smaller clutches at +4�°C. Offspring of low and partially plated females grew much less at +4�°C compared to those of completely plated females. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ocean warming could impact reproductive success at various levels, with differential effects depending on phenotype, in this case, lateral plate morph. Some traits (clutch siring success, egg size) showed better performance for low plated fish at +4�°C, whereas others (e.g., growth) did not. Higher clutch siring success of low plated males at elevated temperature might indicate a future shift in plate morph composition for polymorphic stickleback populations, with potential implications for colonization ability during range shifts under climate change

Gender-sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision making (ROAD) to support WiF2

The Gender-Sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision Making (ROAD) to Support WiF-2 (ROAD migration project), a partnership coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Australian National University, American University Beirut, Lincoln University, and University of Dhaka, evaluated the ILO-DFID Partnership Programme on Fair Recruitment and Decent Work for Women Migrant Workers in South Asia and the Middle East (Work in Freedom, Phase 2 project [WiF-2]), which operated from 2018 to 2023. The WiF-2 project specifically aimed “to reduce vulnerability to trafficking and forced labour of women and girls across migration pathways leading to the care sector and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries (TCLFI) of South Asia and Arab States” (ToC WiF-2)

Long-Term Optimization of Egypt's Power Sector: Policy Implications

This paper presents an evaluation of energy supply strategies for Egypt’s power sector and identifies prospects to meet rising electricity demand while addressing energy security and low-carbon development issues. We apply the TIMES energy system model to examine Egypt’s energy policy goals as reflected in Egypt’s Vision 2030, and specifically: (a) targeted power generation based on renewable energy under two different scenarios; (b) targeted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions’ mitigation toward low-carbon society development; and (c) constraints on natural gas production for power generation. The quantitative results from the model suggest a need for diversification from predominantly natural gas to a mix of renewable and conventional energy sources in order to improve energy security, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, with the level of diversification changing with different policy options. Although total energy system cost is projected to increase the effects on fossil-fuel dependency, diversity of energy supply-mix, marginal electricity generation price, and GHG mitigation indicate that it may be wise to target promotion of renewable energy for power generation and develop a low-carbon society