10 research outputs found
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Landsat-Derived Estimates of Mangrove Extents in the Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex during 1990–2016
This study provides the first assessment of decadal changes in mangrove extents in Sierra Leone. While significant advances have been made in mangrove mapping using remote sensing, no study has documented long-term changes in mangrove extents in Sierra Leone—one of the most vulnerable countries in West Africa. Such understanding is critical for devising regional management strategies that can support local livelihoods. We utilize multi-date Landsat data and cloud computational techniques to quantify spatiotemporal changes in land cover, with focus on mangrove ecosystems, for 1990–2016 along the coast of Sierra Leone. We specifically focus on four estuaries—Scarcies, Sierra Leone, Yawri Bay, and Sherbro. We relied on the k-means approach for an unsupervised classification, and validated the classified map from 2016 using ground truth data collected from Sentinel-2 and high-resolution images and during field research (accuracy: 95%). Our findings indicate that the Scarcies river estuary witnessed the greatest mangrove loss since 1990 (45%), while the Sierra Leone river estuary experienced mangrove gain over the last 26 years (22%). Overall, the Sierra Leone coast lost 25% of its mangroves between 1990 and 2016, with the lowest coverage in 2000, during the period of civil war (1991–2002). However, natural mangrove dynamics, as supported by field observations, indicate the potential for regeneration and sustainability under carefully constructed management strategies
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South Atlantic Variability Arising from Air–Sea Coupling: Local Mechanisms and Tropical–Subtropical Interactions
Interannual variability in the southern and equatorial Atlantic is investigated using an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) coupled to a slab ocean model (SOM) in the Atlantic in order to isolate features of air–sea interactions particular to this basin. Simulated covariability between sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and atmosphere is very similar to the observed non-ENSO-related covariations in both spatial structures and time scales. The leading simulated empirical coupled mode resembles the zonal mode in the tropical Atlantic, despite the lack of ocean dynamics, and is associated with baroclinic atmospheric anomalies in the Tropics and a Rossby wave train extending to the extratropics, suggesting an atmospheric response to tropical SST forcing. The second non-ENSO mode is the subtropical dipole in the SST with a mainly equivalent barotropic atmospheric anomaly centered on the subtropical high and associated with a midlatitude wave train, consistent with atmospheric forcing of the subtropical SST. The power spectrum of the tropical mode in both simulation and observation is red with two major interannual peaks near 5 and 2 yr. The quasi-biennial component exhibits a progression between the subtropics and the Tropics. It is phase locked to the seasonal cycle and owes its existence to the imbalances between SST–evaporation and SST–shortwave radiation feedbacks. These feedbacks are found to be reversed between the western and eastern South Atlantic, associated with the dominant role of deep convection in the west and that of shallow clouds in the east. A correct representation of tropical–extratropical interactions and of deep and shallow clouds may thus be crucial to the simulation of realistic interannual variability in the southern and tropical Atlantic
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Report D’Atelier: Coproduction de services climatiques pour le secteur de la nutrition au Sénégal
Les 15 et 16 novembre 2021, le projet Adapting Agriculture to Climate Today, for Tomorrow (ACToday) de Columbia World, en collaboration avec le Laboratoire de Recherche en Nutrition et Alimentation Humaine (LARNAH) de l'Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), le Conseil national pour le Développement de la Nutrition (CNDN), et l'Agence Nationale de Météorologie du Sénégal (ANACIM) ont co-organisé un atelier à Dakar, au Sénégal, pour faire progresser la coproduction de services climatiques pour la nutrition dans le pays. L'atelier, qui a rassemblé 22 participants issus d'un large éventail d'organisations universitaires, gouvernementales, onusiennes et à but non lucratif travaillant dans le domaine de la nutrition, visait à identifier les possibilités d'intégration des informations climatiques dans diverses décisions et interventions liées à la nutrition, et à établir les besoins et les priorités en matière d'informations climatiques pour le secteur
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Climate of the Meningitis Belt
An overview of the connection between climate and meningitis in the West African Sahel
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Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension for Ethiopia 2nd Edition
The Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) for Ethiopia Reference Guide 2nd Edition is an accompaniment to the abridged CRMAE Handbook, with new and updated content following demand from Ethiopia's Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) colleges. Both the Reference Guide and Handbook are training and reference materials intended to be used during implementation of the Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension course in Ethiopia. The Reference Guide was designed for Ethiopia’s subject matter specialists (SMS) and extension staff, including development agents (DAs). It may also be used by other actors, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations (CBOs), who work closely with farmers and those who support them. It aims to provide foundational knowledge on climate and agricultural decision making and practical tools to analyze climate-related risks, use appropriate weather and climate information to support agricultural decisions, communicate complex climate information effectively with farmers, and integrate climate services into agricultural extension activities
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Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension for Ethiopia 2nd Edition: Facilitators' Guide
The 2nd Edition of the Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension for Ethiopia Facilitators’ Guide is an accompaniment to curricular materials presented in the Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) Reference Guide and Handbook, with new and updated content following demand from Ethiopia's Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) colleges. It is intended to be used during implementation of the CRMAE course targeting Ethiopia’s subject matter specialists (SMS) and extension staff, including development agents (DAs). This includes, but is not limited to, teachers of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) program and its associated colleges. This Facilitators’ Guide was designed to ensure that all of the learning objectives are addressed effectively in the time allotted for each of the four modules that comprise the CRMAE course. It provides facilitators with a roadmap and step-by-step instructions for each of the modules and their sub-components, including each session’s agenda, presentations, activities, and worksheets
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Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension for Ethiopia 2nd Edition Handbook
The 2nd Edition Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) for Ethiopia Handbook is an accompaniment and concise summary of the more comprehensive CRMAE Reference Guide, with new and updated content following demand from Ethiopia's Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) colleges. Both the Handbook and Reference Guide are training and reference materials intended to be used during implementation of the CRMAE course designed for Ethiopia’s subject matter specialists (SMS) and extension staff, including development agents (DAs). It may also be used by other actors, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations (CBOs), who work closely with farmers and those who support them. This Handbook aims to provide foundational knowledge on climate and agricultural decision making; and practical tools to analyze climate-related risks, use appropriate weather and climate information to support agricultural decisions, communicate complex climate information effectively with farmers, and integrate climate services into agricultural extension activities
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A systematic framework to identify climate service entry points for transforming nutrition
Although climate variability and change impact food and nutrition programmes, policies and outcomes both directly and indirectly through their influences on food systems, the nutrition sector’s use of climate services to inform the targeting and delivery of these actions has been extremely limited to date. However, climate services have a key role to play in helping to address malnutrition and achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 more broadly by informing risk assessment for the better targeting of actions, early warnings and long-term planning and preparedness. In particular, climate services can help manage and mitigate climate risks, including those arising from extreme events such as droughts or floods. These risks affect: i) food production, which can, in turn, influence both the quantity and quality of food produced; ii) food safety and food loss; iii) the availability, affordability and acceptability of foods, particularly those that are nutrient-rich; iv) diseases among animals and humans; and v) other factors, such as migration, livelihoods and women’s empowerment, which have trickledown effects on diets and nutrition. There is, therefore, an exigent need to advance climate service solutions aimed at improving diets and nutrition within the context of increasing climate variability, including extreme events. To help advance the understanding and use of climate services by the nutrition sector, this paper outlines a systematic framework that was developed in the context of the Adapting Agriculture to Climate Today, for Tomorrow (ACToday) Columbia World Project for identifying entry points for climate services aimed at improving diets and nutrition (Columbia Climate School, n.d.). In doing so, it shares experiences from the framework’s application in two country contexts, Vietnam and Senegal, to demonstrate its value in guiding the coproduction of climate services for this sector.
Keywords: nutrition, climate services, Senegal, Vietnam, adaptation, climate, food system