Vulnerability Of Local Population Research Articles

An integrated risk assessment method for urban areas due to chemical leakage accidents

Chemical parks which hold large inventories of hazardous materials have become one important type of urban critical infrastructure. The hazardous chemical leakage such as toxic gas leakage has emerged in recent years, resulting in not only serious environmental pollution but also catastrophic consequences to certain urban areas. It is critical to make scientific risk assessment for such events to reduce negative effects. To address this issue, an integrated urban risk assessment (IURA) method coupling consequences of chemical leakage accidents and the vulnerability of local population is proposed in this work. The threat zones and hazard maps of toxic gas dispersion are present by using the ALOHA software. The population vulnerability is decided by three indicators including exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of residents in affected areas, the Grey Correlation-TOPSIS (GC-TOPSIS) method is used to rank the vulnerability of different regions. The ArcGIS software is applied to generate an integrated risk map through superimposing the hazard map and the population vulnerability map. The original risk matrix evaluation results were subdivided using the Borda count method. A case about an industrial city in Hubei, China is analyzed to test the method. Result shows the new integrated risk assessment method is more accurate and effective, which is beneficial for the government to develop emergency plans and enhance the safety of people.

Assessing populations exposed to climate change: a focus on Africa in a global context

The recent debate on population dynamics and climate change has highlighted the importance of assessing and quantifying disparities in populations’ vulnerability and adopting a forward-looking manner when considering the potential impacts of climate change on different communities and regions. In this article, we overlay demographic projections based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and climate change projections derived from the Representative Concentration Pathways. We focus on populations that are likely to be the most exposed to climate change in the future, namely, African populations in a comparative global context. First, we estimate the share of populations living in rural areas, who would be more dependent on agriculture, as one of the economic sectors mostly affected by climate change. Second, we explore how climate change would worsen the condition of populations living below the poverty line. Finally, we account for low levels of education, as further factors limiting people’s adaptation ability to increasingly adverse climate circumstances. Our contribution to the literature on population, agriculture, and environmental change is twofold. Firstly, by mapping the potential populations exposed to climate change, in terms of declining agricultural yields, we identify vulnerable areas, allowing for the development of targeted strategies and interventions to mitigate the impacts, ensure resilience, and protect the population living in the most affected areas. Secondly, we assess differentials in the vulnerability of local populations, showing how African regions would become among one of the most exposed to climate change by the end of the century. The findings support the targeting of policy measures to prevent increased vulnerability among already disadvantaged populations.

How Non-Governmental-Organization-Built Small-Scale Irrigation Systems Are a Failure in Africa

Every year, millions of dollars are invested in irrigation development in Sahelian African countries. After shifting from governmental organizations to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the vulnerability of local populations has not changed much over the last 60 years in Africa. In this study, ten 1 ha small-scale irrigation systems—spread over the two driest climatic zones—were investigated in Burkina Faso. The soils and subsoils were characterized using double-ring infiltration measurements and two soil databases. The irrigation systems’ operability was assessed by sampling 10–12 farmers per system. A total of eight pumping tests were performed on a sample of wells. To assess the yield of cultivated onion, 5 to 7 squares were followed up in each of the 10 systems. Results indicated that water availability was ensured nowhere. The 32 wells were dug in clayey subsoils. Six of them yielded available water Ve flows ranging from 0.0 to 6.1 m3/day, far below the 80 m3/(ha·day) required by onion. To solve this issue, the NGOs shifted to a low-pressure drip irrigation solution, but the too-low pressure of 0.1 bar led to clogging. Ultimately, all 10 systems (except Louda) broke down a few months after the project’s end.

Risk assessment method for industrial accident consequences and human vulnerability in urban areas

The rapid development of chemistry in the past years has caused not only serious environmental pollution but also other disastrous accidents to certain local areas, especially those densely populated areas. Therefore, to prevent the disastrous consequences of those accidents on vulnerable areas effectively, the local government should determine the sensibility of different regions to potential risks. An integrated risk assessment procedure, which considers accident consequences and the vulnerability of local population, is presented and then applied to a small town in China. In this procedure, a hazard map is obtained from the footprint of regional hazards. The population vulnerability is determined on the basis of the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptability of residents. Population exposure indicators include population density and dwelling environment. Population sensitivity indicators consist of health status, gender, age, and educational level. Adaptability indicators include emergency supplies, medical resources, and traffic convenience. The ArcGIS mapping software is used to overlay the hazard map and the population vulnerability map to generate a composite risk map. The synthesized human vulnerability index system in combination with regional features, overlapping with possible accident ranges, clarifies the visualization of regional risks. This regional risk map can assess the existing land utilization condition; provide a reference for future land planning, transportation line improvement, and medical service configuration; and benefit emergency plan design and material input.

Education in the Mais Médicos program: the gap between proposals and implementation

Abstract: Introduction: The scarcity and inequalities in the geographical distribution of physicians challenge the consolidation of the right to health and create migratory flows that increase health inequities. Due to their complex and multidimensional characteristics, they demand multisectoral political approaches, considering several factors related to the availability and area of practice of medical doctors, as well as the social vulnerability of local populations. Objective: This study aimed at analysing results of the “Mais Médicos” (More Doctors) Program Educational Axis in Brazil. Methodology: A documental research was conducted, highlighting the location and the public or private nature of new undergraduate medical school vacancies between the years 2013 until 2017, which were then compared to the goals and strategies outlined in the official Program documents. Results: The Educational Axis reached important milestones despite the resistance of some institutional actors. The Program extended its undergraduate vacancies by 7696 places, 22.48% of that in public institutions and 77.52% in private ones. Vacancy distribution prioritized cities in rural areas of Brazil, at the same instance bringing forward significant regulatory changes for undergraduate medical courses. However, political disputes with representatives of medical societies and stakeholders interested in favouring the private educational and healthcare sectors surface in the official discourses and documents. These factors weakened the program normative body, creating a hiatus between its core objectives and respective implementation. Evidence related to the concentration of vacancies in the Southeast regions allow the maintenance of a known unequal workforce distribution, despite a proportionally bigger increase in the Midwest, North and Northeast regions. Conclusion: The predominance of vacancies in private institutions and the weakening of the new undergraduate courses monitoring instruments can compromise changes in the graduate students’ profiles, which are necessary for the fixation of physicians in strategic geographic areas to promote Primary Healthcare.

Education in the Mais Médicos program: the gap between proposals and implementation

Abstract: Introduction: The scarcity and inequalities in the geographical distribution of physicians challenge the consolidation of the right to health and create migratory flows that increase health inequities. Due to their complex and multidimensional characteristics, they demand multisectoral political approaches, considering several factors related to the availability and area of practice of medical doctors, as well as the social vulnerability of local populations. Objective: This study aimed at analysing results of the “Mais Médicos” (More Doctors) Program Educational Axis in Brazil. Methodology: A documental research was conducted, highlighting the location and the public or private nature of new undergraduate medical school vacancies between the years 2013 until 2017, which were then compared to the goals and strategies outlined in the official Program documents. Results: The Educational Axis reached important milestones despite the resistance of some institutional actors. The Program extended its undergraduate vacancies by 7696 places, 22.48% of that in public institutions and 77.52% in private ones. Vacancy distribution prioritized cities in rural areas of Brazil, at the same instance bringing forward significant regulatory changes for undergraduate medical courses. However, political disputes with representatives of medical societies and stakeholders interested in favouring the private educational and healthcare sectors surface in the official discourses and documents. These factors weakened the program normative body, creating a hiatus between its core objectives and respective implementation. Evidence related to the concentration of vacancies in the Southeast regions allow the maintenance of a known unequal workforce distribution, despite a proportionally bigger increase in the Midwest, North and Northeast regions. Conclusion: The predominance of vacancies in private institutions and the weakening of the new undergraduate courses monitoring instruments can compromise changes in the graduate students’ profiles, which are necessary for the fixation of physicians in strategic geographic areas to promote Primary Healthcare.

Sustainable farmers, deficient State? Self-reported agricultural sustainability in the Argentine Chaco region

ABSTRACT Unsustainable production systems can exacerbate the negative consequences of deforestation and land use change, increasing the vulnerability of local populations to environmental or economic crises. We developed and applied a participatory method to assess the sustainability of agricultural production systems in the Chaco region of Northern Argentina. We used a combination of theoretical, methodological, and analytical approaches. The theoretical foundation of our study was Elinor Ostrom's general framework for analyzing the sustainability of social-ecological systems (SESs). Our main methodological tool was a participatory, empirical, semi-quantitative multi-criteria decision making methodology based on expert meetings, field trips, and semi-structured interviews. We also made use of a political ecology approach to situate our case study and put our empirical results in perspective by relating them to issues of power and environmental justice. Our findings suggest that local farmers perceive their production systems as barely sustainable, with variables such as type of activity and farm size, among others, clearly influencing their sustainability estimations. Sustainability seems dependent on the skills and organization abilities of local farmers, with the State failing to provide sufficient basic infrastructure and enabling services. Our method could inform policy making aimed at improving the sustainability of agricultural practices in the region.

Ants Response to Human-Induced Disturbance in a Rain Tropical Forest

A high rate of human-induced disturbance of tropical ecosystems results in enormous loss of biodiversity due to local extinctions. Yet, mechanisms at the population level that lead to the extinction are still poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that human-induced disturbance results in smaller amount of nesting sites for wood-dwelling arthropods that leads to smaller population size and diminished reproduction, and therefore, may promote local extinctions. We completed censuses in less-disturbed and human-disturbed secondary rain forest plots in Puerto Rico. We measured population size and brood production in wood-nesting ants and examined whether these parameters differ between less-disturbed and more-disturbed habitats. In addition, we measured volume of wood parts of all inhabited and potential nesting sites to assess nest site availability. We found that more human-disturbed forests furnish smaller nest sites, resulting in diminished population size and lowered brood production. Our study shows that human-induced disturbance decreases volume of available nesting sites that leads to decreased population size and lowered reproduction. Thus, in addition to the well-documented loss of species richness in human-disturbed tropical habitats, we demonstrated the direct effect of the disturbance that may promote vulnerability of local populations.

Recognizing the importance of tropical forests in limiting rainfall-induced debris flows

Worldwide concern for continuing loss of montane forest cover in the tropics usually focuses on adverse ecological consequences. Less recognized, but equally important to inhabitants of these affected regions, is an increasing susceptibility to rainfall-induced debris flows and their associated impacts. The same high rainfall rates that sustain tropical forest cover can often serve as the triggering mechanism for debris flows. The natural rate of debris flow occurrence on steep slopes subject to episodic, intense rainfall is dependent on the stabilizing effect of tropical forests. Either loss or significant reduction in forest cover can weaken this natural defense. Information from postdisaster observations and research on the November 1988 storm event in southern Thailand provides a case study illustrating the potential impacts of increased debris flow susceptibility resulting from conversion of forest cover to rubber tree crops. Development resulting in the loss of tropical forest cover may be accompanied by local increase in population, property development, and infrastructure. Consequently, the potentially disastrous consequences of increased debris flow occurrence are amplified by the greater vulnerability of local populations. Preserving the tropical forest cover is an obvious and often difficult means of retaining this natural protection. Effective policy should capitalize on the values of tropical forests as part of the strategy for retaining adequate forest cover. Policy should also seek to avoid creating pressures that foster forest removal or their conversion to other types of land cover in steep terrain. Areas where tropical forests were converted to other cover types can be restored to secondary forests to avoid a permanent state of increased debris flow susceptibility. Restoration of secondary tropical forests can successfully re-establish the forest characteristics that limit debris flow occurrence. Experience in Central America and the Caribbean demonstrates that successful restoration is possible but requires a significant commitment of both time and resources. In addition to the cost and technical difficulties involved, the increased susceptibility to debris flow occurrence persists through many years until successful restoration is achieved. Both retention of existing tropical forests and restoration of forest cover where loss has occurred are often justified by the reduced risk of debris flow impacts to vulnerable populations and infrastructure.

Limited genetic connectivity of Pavona gigantea in the Mexican Pacific

Coral reefs are the most complex and diverse of aquatic ecosystems. Their vulnerability and deterioration in the face of anthropogenic disturbance require the adoption of conservation and restoration efforts to maintain their resilience, for which connectivity is of paramount importance. Dispersal of meroplanktonic larval stages drives the levels of connectivity among coral populations and is influenced by the local current regime, the synchronization of spawning events, and the capacity of larvae to reach recruitment sites. This research aims to quantify the levels of connectivity among Pavona gigantea populations in the Mexican Pacific, using two mitochondrial genes and a nuclear gene. Mitochondrial genes were insufficiently variable to test geographical heterogeneity, whereas the more variable (h ≥ 0.86) nuclear rDNA indicated significant geographic differentiation (ΦST = 0.159, P < 0.001) among five locations along the Mexican Pacific, but no evidence of isolation by distance. Gene flow was limited among most sampled locales, and the largest estimate suggested moderate and unidirectional gene flow from Huatulco Bays to La Paz Bay and Marietas Islands. We found partial agreement between the patterns of connectivity among localities and the general pattern of superficial oceanographic circulation of the region, particularly in reference with the expected influence of the northward flowing West Mexican Current. These results suggest a limited demographic connectivity among Pavona gigantea populations along the Mexican Pacific, mediated by passive larval transport, and highlight the difficulty of predicting connectivity patterns on the basis of highly variable oceanographic regimes and reproductive events. The limited connectivity is of consequence for the viability and vulnerability of local populations and should be considered in the management and conservation strategies in the region.