An integrated framework for environmental management and protection in Zambia

This study identifies the major environmental issues andproblems affecting Zambia and examines the current state andpractice of environmental protection and management. Areview of the existing legislation relating to environmentalprotection in Zambia is made.The relationship between the development process and theenvironment is explored, in particular giving an overview ofthe evolution of paradigms in environmental management anddevelopment. An outline of the environmental trends in sub-Saharan Africa and the environmental policy in the UnitedKingdom and how it relates to the framework of ECenvironmental policy is made. With such a background keyissues have been identified to be addressed when consideringenvironmental policy in Zambia.The mining, agricultural and tourism industries form thesectoral case studies of this study. These sectors have beenselected on the basis of their dominance in Zambia'sdevelopment strategy and their impact on the environment.The immense scale of the mining industry warrants itsconsideration; agriculture has now been given priority asthe sector with the highest potential in the overall economyand; in diversifying the economy, tourism development isemerging as one of the most important sectors.The study recognises that the absence of definite crosssectoralguidelines for environmental resources managementand a general paucity of information on the environment havebeen major constraints for the development of environmentalprotection strategies in Zambia. This has been due toinsufficient institutional support for sustained research andmonitoring of the environment. Therefore, the study mak?sgeneral sectoral recommendations for addressing theenvironmental problems identified in the study

Volcanic CO2 tracks the incubation period of basaltic paroxysms

The ordinarily benign activity of basaltic volcanoes is periodically interrupted by violent paroxysmal explosions ranging in size from Hawaiian to Plinian in the most extreme examples. These paroxysms often occur suddenly and with limited or no precursors, leaving their causal mechanisms still incompletely understood. Two such events took place in summer 2019 at Stromboli, a volcano otherwise known for its persistent mild open-vent activity, resulting in one fatality and damage to infrastructure. Here, we use a post hoc analysis and reinterpretation of volcanic gas compositions and fluxes acquired at Stromboli to show that the two paroxysms were preceded by detectable escalations in volcanic plume CO2 degassing weeks to months beforehand. Our results demonstrate that volcanic gas CO2 is a key driver of explosions and that the preparatory periods ahead of explosions in basaltic systems can be captured by precursory CO2 leakage from deeply stored mafic magma