Indigenous knowledge in the management of a community-Based Forest Reserve in the Wa West District of Ghana

Despite the various awareness-creation exercises on community-based management systems by the Forestry Commission and Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana, there appear to be no appreciation of the role of indigenous knowledge in the process. Specifically in the case of the management of the forest reserves, no effective formal strategies exist as yet for working with rural communities to accomplish the goals of nature conservation using local experiences and knowledges. Yet, for the many communities involved in the management of forests and other nature reserves, their local knowledges and experiences have been instrumental in the management of their environments and their resources. This paper evaluates the contributions of indigenous knowledge in community-based management of the natural vegetation by focussing on the case of the Yuoboli Integrated Forest Reserve of the Naaha community in the Wa West District of Ghana. It examines the role of indigenous knowledge in the lives of the people of Naaha and the effectiveness of the strategies used for the management of their natural vegetation. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to collect data from primary and secondary sources. The study reveals that conventional approaches are complemented with indigenous knowledge in the management of the Yuoboli Forest Reserve. Also, cherished indigenous methods of managing the reserve are sacrifices, creation of fire belts and taboos such as ‘‘no hunting’’, ‘‘no burning’’ and ‘‘no cutting of trees.’’ The study indicates that 81.3% of the interviewees supports the making of fire belts as one of their respected indigenous ways of managing the reserve and in that respect, 98.4% affirm that indigenous knowledge supports development. It is recommended that their indigenous knowledge on natural resources management be deepened by the creation of institutions within the community to support the process in order to ensure easy learning and knowledge transfer to subsequent generations. Also, organisations should give support to the community on how to effectively manage the reserve locally. This will encourage participation and empowerment.KEY DESCRIPTORS: Indigenous knowledge, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Degradation, Community-based Approaches, Forest Reserves

Forecasting peak load electricity demand using statistics and rule based approach

Problem statement: Forecasting of electricity load demand is an essential activity and an important function in power system planning and development. It is a prerequisite to power system expansion planning as the world of electricity is dominated by substantial lead times between decision making and its implementation. The importance of demand forecasting needs to be emphasized at all level as the consequences of under or over forecasting the demand are serious and will affect all stakeholders in the electricity supply industry. Approach: If under estimated, the result is serious since plant installation cannot easily be advanced, this will affect the economy, business, loss of time and image. If over estimated, the financial penalty for excess capacity (i.e., over-estimated and wasting of resources). Therefore this study aimed to develop new forecasting model for forecasting electricity load demand which will minimize the error of forecasting. In this study, we explored the development of rule-based method for forecasting electricity peak load demand. The rule-based system synergized human reasoning style of fuzzy systems through the use of set of rules consisting of IF-THEN approximators with the learning and connectionist structure. Prior to the implementation of rule-based models, SARIMAT model and Regression time series were used. Results: Modification of the basic regression model and modeled it using Box-Jenkins auto regressive error had produced a satisfactory and adequate model with 2.41% forecasting error. With rule-based based forecasting, one can apply forecaster expertise and domain knowledge that is appropriate to the conditions of time series. Conclusion: This study showed a significant improvement in forecast accuracy when compared with the traditional time series model. Good domain knowledge of the experts had contributed to the increase in forecast accuracy. In general, the improvement will depend on the conditions of the data, the knowledge development and validation. The rule-based forecasting procedure offered many promises and we hoped this study can become a starting point for further research in this field

The Influence of Integrated Gravity Circuit on the Efficiency of Gold Extraction at a Carbon-in-Leach Plant

In gold ores, the precious metal particles may occur as nuggets (> 0.5 mm) and down to sub-microscopic particles. Coarse particles are generally recovered by gravity concentration before leaching the bulk material with sodium cyanide to enhance leaching efficiency. A mine in West Africa operates a carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant where a gravity circuit has recently been installed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the gravity-integrated circuit on the overall efficiency of metallurgical operations in the CIL plant. In this investigation, a quantitative research approach was selected to determine the variables in analysing the influence of the integrated gravity circuit on the efficiency of gold extraction. The general plant efficiencies before and after the installation of the Gravity Recoverable Gold (GRG) circuit were investigated, with a focus on the milling circuit, CIL circuit, and reagent consumption in the various circuits. A model was constructed using multiple linear regression analysis, and the relationship between the variables was determined. From the results, the mill's throughput increased from 13.5 million tonnes per year to 13.9 million tonnes per year after the installation of the GRG circuit. In models 1 and 2, all coefficient p-values were less than the 5% significance level chosen for the study. Cost-benefit analysis of reagent use before and after gravity installation showed that the plant consumption of reagents decreased from 43 264 – 36 481 tonnes, 13 144 – 10 141 tonnes, 1 779 – 1 538 tonnes, 3 208 – 1 551 tonnes, 9 274 – 8 045 tonnes for lime, sodium cyanide, activated carbon, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda respectively. Again, the GRG circuit dramatically reduced the gold loadings onto activated carbon with an overall reduction in tailing grade and increased the gold recovery rate and purity by 1% and 2%, respectively. Overall, the mine's annual ore processing capacity increased by 2.34 %. Therefore, installing additional Knelson concentrators (gravity units) can be key to addressing the excess gravity-recoverable gold suspected to exist in the circuit with continuous checks and balances performed

Corrosion study of pipeline material for seabed sediment in tropical climate

Corrosive environments such as marine sediments can cause corrosion to steel pipelines at any time when certain conditions are met. Seabed sediment could cause severe corrosion damage due to its corrosiveness to the pipelines buried under it. Many consequences could take place in case if there is incident in oil/gas pipelines. Successfully identifying elements of corrosion in marine sediment would enhance the future of steel structure protection and monitoring systems. This article focuses on the behaviour of corrosion rate of steel located near shore environment and the aim is to determine the effect of sediment on corrosion of steel. To investigate that, simulated near shore sediment conditions have been used where the steel coupons buried in sediments which have different characteristics. Weight loss technique has been implemented to determine the weight loss rate of the steel specimens. Based on the results of this study, metal weight loss increases as the duration of exposure to seabed sediment environment become longer. The sea sediment simulated condition has given significant levels of corrosion. Conclusively, the corrosion rate of steel in seabed sediment located in tropical region is complicated and further studies are suggested

Biosorption of Mercury by Selected Plants – a Preliminary Study

Traditionally, mercury (Hg) is considered among the most toxic elements with several major health issues and serious environmental challenges. With the frequent release of Hg from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) operations, aquatic plants or staple crops in environments polluted with mercury may accumulate significant amounts of mercury. Thus, result in mercury entering the food supply chain posing health challenges to humans. In order to ascertain the bio-sorption characteristics of some staple crops for mercury; beans, millet, corn and groundnut were tested. The plants were contacted with 10 mg/L and 50 mg/L solution of mercury concentration for 7 days followed by subsequent metal analysis of residual solution. The results delineate that, metal uptake ranges of 4.6-9.3 mg/l, 3.2-9.6 mg/l, 4.7-9.3 mg/l and 3.0-7.7 mg/l for beans, corn, groundnut and millet respectively for the 10 ppm Hg solution. In addition, 16.2-42.0 mg/l, 18.2-35.7 mg/l, 17.6-34.2 mg/l and 26.0-30.2 mg/l are the Hg metal uptake ranges for the 50 ppm concentration. This shows that the plants have the capacity to uptake mercury metal to certain degree. This also confirms that beans, corn, millet, and groundnut are potential bio-accumulators of mercury in mercury contaminated sites. Notably, the findings from this study affirm the hypothesis that in situations where the mercury is bioavailable, some food items harvested in such polluted areas may eventually enter the food chain

Interfacial friction in upward annular gas–liquid two-phase flow in pipes

Accurate prediction of interfacial friction between the gas and liquid in annular two-phase flow in pipes is essential for the proper modelling of pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient in pipeline systems. Many empirical relationships have been obtained over the last half century. However, they are restricted to limited superficial liquid and gas velocity ranges, essentially apply to atmospheric pressures, and the relationships are only relevant for pipes with inner diameters between 10 and 50 mm. In this study, we carried out experiments in a large diameter flow loop of 101.6 mm internal diameter with the superficial gas and liquid ranges of 11–29 m/s and 0.1–1.0 m/s respectively. An examination of published interfacial friction factor correlations was carried out using a diverse database which was collected from the open literature for vertical annular flow. The database includes measurements in pipes of 16–127 mm inner diameter for the liquid film thickness, interfacial shear stress, and pressure gradient for air-water, air-water/glycerol, and argon-water flows. Eleven studies are represented with experimental pressures of up to 6 bar. Significant discrepancies were found between many of the published correlations and the large pipe data, primarily in the thick film region at low interfacial shear stress. A correlation for the interfacial friction factor was hence derived using the extensive database. The correlation includes dimensionless numbers for the effect of the diameter across pipe scales to be better represented and better fit the wide range of experimental conditions, fluid properties, and operating pressures

An agricultural investment map based on geographic information system and multi-criteria method.

The study aimed to produce an investment classification map, which shows the potential areas of investment in agriculture in Sinnar, Sudan. The spatial multi-criteria analysis was used to rank and display potential locations, while the analytical hierarchy process method was used to compute the priority weights of each criterion. The study attempted to explore the utilization of Geographic Information System (GIS) to map the potential investment areas, therefore, it did not cover a comprehensive analysis of all factors that influence investment in agriculture. In addition, the analysis was limited to criteria that had spatial reference. The investment criteria for spatial analysis were defined from the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Investment, Sudan. Even with the shortcomings of the data, it was found that the results obtained were very encouraging and provided clear indicative areas for agricultural investment in Sinnar. Government agencies can use GIS to access information regarding the potential areas of investment, and minimize investment risks. On the other hand, the economic development organizations will now have the ability to benefit from the Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions by leveraging on this technology to attract and retain business from worldwide sources. Thus, the model will serve as a decision support tool for investors and decision makers at various levels

Effects of crumb rubber at different sizes in asphalt mixtures on mechanical properties

High vehicles loads due to increasing the road users are one of the main issues affecting the asphalt pavement surface and its performance by resulting various problems such as fatigue cracking and other deformations due to road overloading caused by vehicles loads. The use of crumb rubber in asphalt pavements has attracted increasingly growing attention and become one of the factors that increase the strength of the pavement. Crumb rubber is used to improve asphalt binder properties and pavement performance since it contributes as an additive material in the structural applications and reducing the environmental problem. The main contribution and purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of adding crumb rubber into the asphalt by using the wet method. There were two different amounts of crumb rubber content used in this study (2.5 % and 3.5 % of the overall asphalt mixture weight) and two different crumb rubber sizes (0.6 mm and 0.3 mm) that were examined in this study. In addition to this study, asphalt grade 60/70 penetration grade. The performance of the modified binder is comparatively evaluated with an unmodified binder to find the best modifier. The evaluation is done through conducting the comparison between results obtained from modified and unmodified asphalt samples using Marshall stability, flow and resilience modulus test. The results from this study shows crumb rubber is an efficient material to be used as an additive to asphalt binder since it contributes in better performance by increasing the strength and stiffness of pavement and can be used for future development

The effectiveness of bismuth breast shielding with protocol optimization in CT scans of the thorax

Background: Numerous techniques had been proposed to reduce radiation exposure in computed tomography (CT) including the use of radiation shielding. Objective: This study aims to evaluate efficacy of using a bismuth breast shield and optimized scanning parameter to reduce breast absorbed doses from CT thorax examination. Methods: Five protocols comprising the standard CT thorax clinical protocol (CP1) and four modified protocols (CP2 to CP5) were applied in anthropomorphic phantom scans. The phantom was configured as a female by placing a breast component on the chest. The breast component was divided into four quadrants, where 2 thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD-100) were inserted into each quadrant to measure the absorbed dose. The bismuth shield was placed over the breast component during CP4 and CP5 scans. Results: The pattern of absorbed doses in each breast and quadrant were approximately the same for all protocols, where the 4th quadrant > 3rd quadrant > 2nd quadrant > 1st quadrant. The mean absorbed dose value in CP3 was reduced to almost 34% of CP1's mean absorbed dose. It was reduced even lower to 15% of CP1's mean absorbed dose when the breast shield was used in CP5. Conclusion: This study showed that CT radiation exposure on the breast could be reduced by using a bismuth shield and low tube potential protocol without compromising the image quality