"Journal of Environment and Earth Science"

In spite of the enormous contributions the informal apprenticeship system has made to empowering many creative intelligent young Ghanaians, it has over the years come under a barrage of criticism and forceful evictions in many urban areas in Ghana. The justification by urban administrators and planners for forcefully removing these graduate apprentices who set up their businesses have been on grounds of encroachment of public spaces and illegal occupation of precarious locations. Informal graduate apprentices have defended their locational choice on ground of unfairness on the part of the state and the market to cater for their space needs. In the awake of a growing informal apprenticeship system in Ghana, this paper sought to establish the inherent relationship that exist between the growth in apprentices, their locational preferences, and their implications for urban planning and management. Using a case study approach the study built upon earlier exploratory research works done in the area. Information was gathered from 162 graduate apprentices-now entrepreneurs in four broad trades namely wood worker; auto mechanics; textile and apparel; and beauticians and hairdressers in Accra using questionnaires. The responses were validated through a focus group discussion. The findings revealed the number of graduate apprentices who set up their businesses is on the rise. Although they preferred highly accessible areas that guaranteed high patronage of their services the absence of such spaces due to inefficiencies in the urban land market or a lack of a clear regulation that addresses their specific needs have caused them to settle in areas that are available to them. It was also evident that the more concentrated the location of their activities are the higher the number of trips it generates across the urban space. Having gained insight into the phenomenon, proposals have been made as to how best the unmet space needs of the graduate apprentices can be met so as to mitigate the negative effects that results from unplanned, uncoordinated and unmet space needs.

Climate change is real and is disproportionately affecting poor communities in poorer countries. Climate change drives climate extremes which manifest in the form of extreme droughts in some areas and excessive precipitations in others. The nature of impacts from climate extremes depends not only on the intensities of the extremes themselves but also on exposure and vulnerability of communities. Communities in poor countries are the most exposed to such extremities and are forced to bear a huge burden to adapt to these extremes. As such, adaptation to disasters is not new to these communities in a sense that they have been adapting to extremes even before climate change became a concern. What is now new is the extent of exposure factors exerting an everincreasing pressure on livelihoods of already destitute communities. As if their poverty was not enough, climate change extends the plights beyond previous adaptation capacities. These communities and countries not only have to tackle clime-driven consequences, but also other forms of disaster impacts and poverty in general. How can these communities and countries deal with such intricately related environmental management, disaster risk reduction and overall poverty alleviation challenges all at the same time?

The aim of this study is to ascertain the moderating effect that affective destination image has on the relationship between tourist satisfaction and behavioural intention in a mountain tourism destination: Obudu Mountain Resort. Using a sample of 217 tourists who were very much first-time visitors, structural equation modelling (SEM) and hierarchical multiple regression were used to perform the analysis. Our findings provide support for the entire hypothesis developed except for the direct relationship between cognitive image and behavioural intention. The result of the hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that affective destination image has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between tourist satisfaction and behavioural intention.

Groundwater quality in Owerri West was assessed. Forty-five water samples were collected from wash-Boreholes. The physico-chemical and biological parameters of groundwater samples from Nekede (Ward A), Ihiagwa (Ward B), Eziobodo (Ward C), Obinze (Ward D) and Avu (Ward E) were assessed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS).The study was aimed to determine how distances to a potential source of contamination affect the quality of groundwater, the major contaminants of groundwater in the selected locations and the sources of the major contaminants when compared to WHO standards. A total of three replicates of fifteen different borehole water samples were collected based on distances from closest potential sources of contamination. The pH, turbidity values and temperature of the borehole samples ranged from 5.6 ± 0.005 to 8.6 ± 0.70, 4.5± 0.26 to 9.3±0.56 NTU and 24.0 ± 0.32 to 27.5 ± 0.45 0 C respectively. Total Viable Count (TVC) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of the borehole samples ranged from 3.0 ±0.05 to 7.3±0.04 cfu/ml to 1.1±0.05 to 2.0±0.07 mg/L respectively. Concentrations of iron, nitrate and calcium ranged from 0.4±0.006 to 3.8±0.01 mg/L, 5.4±0.16 to 16.2 ±0.25mg/L and16.4 ±0.11 to 33.6±0.49 mg/L respectively. The results showed that most of the boreholes were polluted and strongly recommended that access to water from these boreholes could be improved by proper treatment and good sanitation in the selected locations studied.

Tectono-stratigraphic units within the Zagros Orogen in northeast Iraq (foreland) and northwest Iran (hinterland) are correlated to provide an integrated map along the collision zone. Access to this part of Iraq during the past four decades has been limited due to geopolitical situation. Structural cross-sections across the Zagros Suture Zone in this area reveal the relationships between the tectonic terranes of various ages and different origins. Terranes of oceanic affinity have accreted onto the Arabian plate during collision-accretion events that started in the Late Cretaceous. The collision resulted in closure of the Neotethys Ocean and the construction of a structurally complex suture zone. Jurassic-Cretaceous deep ocean radiolarites of the Qulqula-Kermanshah terrane and ophiolitic mélange serpentinites were structurally accreted against the Arabian passive margin during an ophiolite arc-continent collision event in the Late Cretaceous. The overthrust radiolarites and ophiolitic mélange terranes initiated the development of the foreland basin overlapping flysch (turbidites) and molasse assemblages on the now active Arabian margin. Eocene-Oligocene volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Walash-Naopurdan-Kamyaran terrane developed as an intra-oceanic island-arc within the intervening Neotethys Ocean. They now structurally overlie the older ophiolite mélange and radiolarite terranes as a result of continued convergence onto the margin of the Arabian Plate. These younger thrust sheets and nappes have been transported over the Miocene molasse unit of the Tertiary Red Beds in the flexural foreland basin and covered the Late Cretaceous accretionary complex terranes and foreland basin assemblages. The Qulqula-Kermanshah terrane is exposed in a tectonic window in the northeastern part of the mapped area indicating that the Late Cretaceous accreted terranes occur below the Walash-Naopurdan-Kamyaran thrust sheet. A Late Cretaceous ophiolitebearing terrane named the "Upper Allochthon" (i.e. Gemo-Qandil nappe, 97-118 Ma) was emplaced by younger thrust sheets over the Eocene-Oligocene Walash-Naopurdan-Kamyaran terrane by out-of-sequence thrusting. Mesozoic metamorphic rocks from the hinterland, including volcanic and intrusive rocks of the active Iranian continental margin (Sanandaj-Sirjan zone), were emplaced during continent-continent collision and occur in the youngest nappes and klippes along the Zagros Suture Zone.

Carbon sequestration by green plants is a suitable way to reduce atmospheric CO 2 . In the present investigation aboveground and belowground carbon sequestration potential of Mangifera indica from nine sectors of Aurangabad city was measured. The total standing aboveground biomass and belowground biomass of Mangifera indica are 82.83tha -1 and 21.54tha -1 respectively, while total standing biomass of Mangifera indica in 2847 hectares of Aurangabad is 104.41tha -1 . The sequestered carbon stalk in aboveground and belowground standing biomass of Mangifera indica are 44.73 tha -1 and 11.63 tha -1 respectively while, total sequestered carbon of Mangifera indica in 2847 hectares area is 56.36 tha -1 . The newly developed allometric equations for Mangifera indica on the diameter class basis for AGB as a function for DBH and height have shown high correlations.

The investigation of groundwater in hard rock terrains is a complex task. To overcome this complexity, the integrated approach based on advanced applications of remote sensing and GIS lends itself to evaluate groundwater prospective zone based on multi-criteria evaluation approach (e.g. seasonal land use/land cover and vegetation, hydro-geology, geomorphology, soil, drainage density, monsoon and post monsoon water level and elevation). A probability weightage index overlay method was adopted that allows a linear combination of probability weights of each thematic map with the individual impact value using Bayesian statistics. These capability values are then multiplied with the respective probability weight of each thematic map. The result shows groundwater potentiality of Paschim Medinipur is stretched along the eastern part and in small pockets in northern and southern part. The hydrologic parameters-based groundwater potential zone map also indicated, 8.08% of the study area was ...

The study assessed the Impact of conflict induced migration on the environment in Plateau State, Nigeria, through a combination of both the Geographic Information System and the SPSS to analyze the satellite images and the population data for the internally displaced persons in the area. It related the images of the area for 4 different years in the last decade; the year just before the crises began (2000), the second after two major conflicts (2006), the third after the fourth major conflict (2010) and finally, a projection of the area in the year 2020.From the image analyses and the correlations, a significant positive relationship was discovered to be present between conflict and environmental degradation (r = 0.84, at p<0.05) and the correlation ascertaining the relationship between migration and the depletion of land resources shows that the more the mobility of conflict displaced migrants the less the land resources become in the destination areas, and the less the migratio...