13 research outputs found
Lien entre les changements climatiques et le déclin de l'industrie de la pêche sur les côtes du Ghana
No full textClimate change linked to failing fisheries in coastal Ghana
No full textIn the coastal area of Accra, Ghana, fish catch has significantly decreased over the last two decades as average sea surface temperatures have steadily risen. Hampered by minimal investments and limited use of technologies, the small-scale fisheries sector in Ghana is considered very vulnerable and poorly adaptable to climate change. The National Canoe Fishermen Association, the Marine Fisheries Research Division (MFRD), and meteorological authorities need to collaborate to sensitize and educate fishers about the impacts of climate change on fisheries, and the need to reduce vulnerability by diversifying their livelihood base
Incidence des changements climatiques sur le paludisme dans les régions côtières du Ghana
No full textImpact of climate change on malaria in coastal Ghana
No full textIn coastal cities of Ghana, malaria prevalence is affected by climate related factors such as flooding and warmer temperatures. This project investigated community perceptions of climate change and malaria, and links between them, in order to guide activities aimed at reducing the influence of climate change on prevalence of the disease. Increasing temperatures and flooding events in the short-term are likely to increase the incidence of malaria, hence control efforts need to be targeted to improve environmental and sanitation conditions. The paper outlines some initiatives that have benefited communities
HABITABLE Focus Group Data: Livelihoods, climate risks, adaptation, and migration impacts
No full textThis dataset is the product of HABITABLE () Work Package 5, "Migration Impacts," which aimed to improve the understanding of how different forms of migration and mobility affect social-ecological systems at places of origin.
It explores both direct and indirect impacts of migration on:
i) the coping and adaptation capacities of individuals, households, and communities facing climate risks; and
ii) the structural root causes of vulnerability, including social, material, cultural, and political dimensions.
Recommended use:
Climate vulnerability and adaptation research
Migration and development studies
Intersectional and community-based adaptation research
Study design and data collection:
Study type: Structured and visual participatory group discussions
Target population: Rural adults (18+), from migrant and non-migrant households in climate affected areas
Methodology: Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)-inspired tools, using visualizations and facilitated discussions
Data collection instruments: 12 thematic sessions (e.g., migration impacts, climate risks, adaptation, social change, inequality)
Sampling: Mixed groups based on gender, age, socioeconomic background; purposive and stratified participant selection
Data format: Coded textual segments and transcribed visual materials
Ethical considerations: Informed consent, anonymization of site and personal data
Geographic coverage and sample size:
Ghana: 2 sites, 24 sessions with each 6-8 participants
Mali: 4 sites, 48 sessions with each 6-8 participants
Kenya: 3 sites, 36 sessions with each 6-8 participants
Thailand: 3 sites, 36 sessions with each 6-8 participants
Data processing and structure:
Visual outputs and discussion notes were compiled into standardized reports and manually coded using a content-driven coding scheme. The resulting dataset includes text segments and image transcriptions, organized under thematic codes related to development trajectories, wellbeing, vulnerability, adaptation, migration impacts, gender, inequality, and environmental change.
Sensitivity and privacy:
No personally identifiable information was collected. Site names were pseudonymized, and sensitive content (e.g., conflict/cohesion issues) was handled with care to prevent harm.
Technical documents :
Data description: see file Description_Habitable_WP5_FGD_Data.pdf
Data collection tools: see file D51_Tools_Data_Collection_WP5_Migration_Impact.pd
Earth System's Gatekeeping of “One Health” Approach to Manage Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases
No full textGlobal response to climate-sensitive infectious diseases has been uncertain and slow. The understanding of the underlying vulnerabilities which forms part of changes created by forces within the Earth system has never before been critical until the coronavirus disease 2019, “COVID-19” pandemic with the initial developmental phase linked to weather elements and climate change. Hence, the heightened interest in climate-sensitive infectious diseases and GeoHealth, evident in the renewed calls for “One Health” approach to disease management. “One Health” explains the commonality of human and animal medicine, and links to the bio-geophysical environment, yet are at crossroads with how forces within the Earth system shape etiologies, incidences, and transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. Hence, the paper explores how these forces, which are multistage and driven by climate change impacts on ecosystems affect emerging infectious diseases, leading to the question “what drive the drivers of diseases?” Three questions that challenge broad theories of Earth system science on boundaries and connectivity emerged to guide study designs to further interrogating disease surveillance and health early warning systems. This is because, climate change (a) drives prevailing biological health hazards as part of forces within the Earth system, (b) shifts disease control services of ecosystems and functioning to effectively regulate disease incidence, and (c) modifies pathogen—species hosts relationships. Hence, the need to rethink pluralistic concepts of climate-sensitive diseases in their infection and management from a GeoHealth perspective, which “One Health” potentially conveys, and to also maintain ecosystem health
Glutathione peroxidase 4 functional variant rs713041 modulates the risk for cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in individuals with type 1 diabetes
No full textCardiac autonomic neuropathy is a neglected diabetic chronic complication for which genetic predictors are rarely reported. Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of microvascular complications, and glutathione peroxidase 4 is involved in the detoxification of peroxides and of reactive oxygen species. Thus, the association of a functional variant in the gene encoding glutathione peroxidase 4 (rs713041) with this diabetic complication was investigated in 341 individuals with type 1 diabetes evaluated for cardiac autonomic neuropathy status (61.7% women, 34 [27–42] years old; diabetes duration: 21 [15–27] years; HbA1c: 8.3% [7.4–9.4]; as median [interquartile interval]). Cardiac autonomic neuropathy was present in 29% of the participants. There was an inverse association of the minor T allele of rs713041 with cardiac autonomic neuropathy (odds ratio=0.39; 95% confidence interval=0.17–0.90; p=0.0271) after adjustment for potential confounders. The functional glutathione peroxidase 4 variant rs713041 modulated the risk for cardiac autonomic neuropathy in the studied population with type 1 diabetes163297299CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPNão temNão tem12/25490-8; 09/09276-3The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) to D.P.S.-B. (12/25490-8) and to M.L.C.-G. (09/09276-3); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) to S.N.A.; and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) to M.L.C.-
COVID-19 responses affected barriers, abilities and aspirations in mobility decisions:insights from diverse urban contexts
No full textResearch on the impacts of COVID-19 on mobility has focused primarily on the increased health vulnerabilities of involuntary migrant and displaced populations. But virtually all migration flows have been truncated and altered because of reduced economic and mobility opportunities of migrants. Here we use a well-established framework of migration decision-making, whereby individual decisions combine the aspiration and ability to migrate, to explain how public responses to the COVID-19 pandemic alter migration patterns among urban populations across the world. The principal responses to COVID-19 pandemic that affected migration are: 1) through travel restrictions and border closures, 2) by affecting abilities to move through economic and other means, and 3) by affecting aspirations to move. Using in-depth qualitative data collected in six cities in four continents (Accra, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dhaka, Maputo, and Worcester), we explore how populations with diverse levels of education and occupations were affected in their current and future mobility decisions. We use data from interviews with sample of internal and international migrants and non-migrants during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic outbreak to identify the mechanisms through which the pandemic affected their mobility decisions. The results show common processes across the different geographical contexts: individuals perceived increased risks associated with further migration, which affected their migration aspirations, and had reduced abilities to migrate, all of which affected their migration decision-making processes. The results also reveal stark differences in perceived and experienced migration decision-making across precarious migrant groups compared to high-skilled and formally employed international migrants in all settings. This precarity of place is particularly evident in low-income marginalised populations
Micro-scale transformations in sustainability practices:Insights from new migrant populations in growing urban settlements
No full textDevelopment that is inclusive and sustainable requires significant social and environmental transformations from current trajectories, building on demographic realities such as changing profiles of populations, and increased levels of mobility. Migration is a major driving force of urbanisation in all global regions, partly facilitated through emerging technologies and declining costs of movement and communication. Social transformations associated with increased migration are highly uneven but include shifts in the location of economic activities, major urban growth, and changing individual incentives and social constraints on sustainability trajectories. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence on how observed population movements can both challenge and promote sustainable transformations. This paper examines how migration transforms places and societies, by providing new evidence on the behaviours and practices of individuals who are part of such transformations as they assimilate, converge or remain distinctive to prior populations. Focusing on individuals in rapidly expanding cities in the Global South, this study uses new biographical life-history survey data from Accra, Ghana, to examine the barriers and enablers of sustainability practices among diverse types of migrants and a sample of non-migrants. The study uses data from 1,163 individuals: international migrants from the West African sub- region (559), internal migrants (299), and non-migrants (305) in Accra. The findings show that sustainability practices established before migration are predictors of current sustainability practices, including proactive recycling, conservation activities, and choice of mode of transportation, but that there is some convergence between behaviours, reflecting assimilation, place attachment and other factors. Internal migrants in Accra exhibit stronger sustainability practices than international migrants. Individual levels of poverty, poor infrastructural development, and perceptions about life satisfaction in the neighbourhood negatively affect sustainability practices among all respondents. These results suggest that poverty and social exclusion are critical to addressing sustainability issues in urban contexts. It is important for policy makers to address issues of urban poverty, cumulative deprivation, and inequality as strong barriers to the adoption of sustainability practices in urban areas. <br/
Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities
No full textClimate change presents significant threats to human health, especially for low income urban communities in the Global South. Despite numerous studies of heat stress, surprisingly little is known about the temperatures actually encountered by people in their homes, or the benefits of affordable adaptations. This paper examines indoor air temperature measurements gathered from 47 living rooms within eight low-income communities of Accra and Tamale, Ghana. Using multiple temperature indices and a tiered analysis, we evaluate indoor temperature variations linked to roof type, ceiling insulation, presence of fans, and tree shade, for different housing types and locations. Our data reveal indoor temperatures in the range 22.4 °C to 45.9 °C for Accra, and 22.2 °C to 43.0 °C in Tamale. Using dummy regression analysis, we find that tree shade reduces the number of very hot days (>40 °C) and nights (>30 °C) by about 12 and 15 days per year, respectively. Building materials also strongly moderate indoor temperatures but in opposing ways: rooms with traditional mud walls and thatch roofs are on average 4.5 °C cooler than rooms in concrete block houses with uninsulated metal roofs during the day but are 1.5 °C warmer at night; rooms with ceiling insulation are on average 6.9 °C cooler in the day but 1.4 °C warmer at night. We conclude that sub-daily data are necessary for reporting extreme indoor temperatures, and that trade-offs between minimum and maximum temperatures require interventions to be assessed carefully before attempting to counter extreme heat inside homes. </div
