Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 87 p. : ill. (some col.), col. map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51).

At the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change COP15 (2009) Brazil presented ambitious commitments or Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), to reduce greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs) mitigation by 2020. At COP21 (2015), the country presented new commitments and a framework to achieve further mitigation targets by 2030 as so-called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Both NAMAs and INDCs focus on the land use change and agricultural sectors, but the INDCs include a commitment of zero illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030. This research focuses on the contribution of the livestock sector to reducing GHGs through the adoption of sustainable intensification measures. A detailed linear programming model, called Economic Analysis of Greenhouse Gases for Livestock Emissions (EAGGLE), of beef production was developed to evaluate environmental trade-offs. The modelling encompasses pasture degradation and recovery processes, animal and deforestation emissions, soil organic carbon dynamics and upstream life-cycle inventory. The model was parameterized for the Brazilian Cerrado, Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes and further developed for farm-scale and regional-scale analysis. Different versions of the EAGGLE model was used to: (i) Evaluate the GHG mitigation potential and economic benefit of optimizing pasture management through the partitioning of initially uniform pasture area; (ii) to define abatement potential and cost-effectiveness of key mitigation measures applicable to the Brazilian Cerrado; (ii) to demonstrate the extent of cost-effective mitigation that can be delivered by the livestock sector as part of INDCs, and to show a result that underpins the national INDC target of zero deforestation; and (iv) to evaluate the consequences of reducing (or increasing) beef production on GHGs in the Cerrado. Counter-intuitively, a sensitivity analysis shows that reducing beef consumption could lead to higher GHG emissions, while increasing production could reduce total GHGs if livestock is decoupled from deforestation.

The mitigation of response resurgence is a topic which has garnered recent attention due to its importance in a clinical setting. The present study examined the mitigation of response resurgence in a human operant study using a computer program to teach multiple response alternatives using a Lag 3 schedule of reinforcement. Of the six undergraduate students who participated in this study, three came under the control of the programmed contingencies. All three of these participants demonstrated higher rates of resurgence in the component which simulated a single response alternative when compared to the component which simulated a multiple response alternative. Areas for future study are discussed.

To decrease carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere for climate change mitigation it is necessary to modify existing practices in processes where greenhouse gases are emitted. Due to the extremely large volumes of carbon dioxide produced globally, it is generally accepted that although carbon dioxide conversion and utilisation will contribute in the long term, in the short to medium term it will be necessary to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions to progress towards a low carbon future. Current industrial capture processes incur large energy and thus economic penalties. Storage in geological formations requires robust confidence in storage security to be publically accepted. Therefore the objective of this work was to study carbon dioxide capture and storage in processes directly confronting these two major challenges. Carbon dioxide adsorption on oxide materials for advanced carbon capture processes with lower energetic and economic penalties was investigated. Water was shown to play a crucial role in determining the presence of reactive sites, the speciation of carbonates formed and increased sorbent utilisation. A high surface area oxide with specifically exposed facets was prepared and the impact of these facets on carbon dioxide uptake performance was assessed. Volumetric gas adsorption and isotherm modelling supported the presence of two distinct adsorption sites. To enhance confidence in storage security it is necessary to understand storage processes that result in stable products. An apparatus capable of obtaining geological storage conditions was developed and carbonate formation and surface hydration at high pressure was investigated. By locating individual reactive cations on the surface of silica, silicate mineral analogues were prepared. It was shown that carbonate speciation was dependent on the reactive cation and the presence or absence of water.

Slugging involves pressure and flowrate fluctuations and poses a major threat to optimising oil production from deepwater reserves. Typical production loss could be as high as 50%, affecting the ability to meet growing energy demand. This work is based on numerical simulation using OLGA (OiL and GAs) a one- dimensional and two-fluid equations based commercial tool for the simulation and analysis of a typical field case study in West Africa. Numerical model was adopted for the field case. Based on the field report, Flow Loop X1 consisted of well X1 and well X2, (where X1 is the well at the inlet and X2 is the well connected from the manifold (MF)). Slugging was experienced at Flow Loop X1 at 3000 BoPD; 4MMScf/D and 3%W/C. This study investigated the conditions causing the slugging and the liquid and gas phase behaviour at the period slugging occurred. The simulation work involved modelling the boundary conditions (heat transfer, ambient temperature, mass flowrate e.t.c). Also critical was the modelling of the piping diameter, pipe length, wall thickness and wall type material to reflect the field geometry. Work on flow regime transition chart showed that slugging became more significant from 30% water-cut, especially at the riser base for a downward inclined flow on the pipeline- riser system. Studies on diameter effect showed that increasing diameter from 8” – 32” gave rise to a drop in Usg (superficial velocity gas) and possible accumulation of liquids on the riser- base position and hence a tendency for slugging formation. Depth effect study showed that increasing depth gave rise to increasing pressure fluctuation, especially at the riser- base. Studies on the Self-Lift slug mitigation approach showed that reducing the internal diameter of the Self-lift by-pass pipe was effective in mitigating slug flow. S3 (Slug suppression system) was also investigated for deepwater scenario, with the results indicating a production benefit of 12.5%. In summary, the work done identified water-cut region where pipeline-riser systems become more susceptible to slugging. Also, two key up-coming slug mitigation strategies were studied and their performance evaluated in-view of production enhancement.

People's experience of space is quite different because we experience our environment with all senses available to us. Environmental pollutions can affect everybody's experiences of space. Noise is one of the environmental pollutions that long-term exposure to high noise levels can cause sleep disruption, reduction of performance, permanent hearing loss, and the inability to enjoy the space. This research presents an assessment of noise levels on the main campus of the University of Arizona, based on noise measurements and noise maps, and defines problems associated with the high noise levels in specific areas. Then, strategically develops an acoustic panel, by using an environmentally friendly material which is called Polylactic Acid. PLA is a kind of biopolymers and it is biodegradable material made from renewable raw materials like corn starch. In addition, the University of Arizona's campus is surrounded by four streets with intense vehicle traffic, which contribute to causing the noise level to exceed the legal limits established for some of the educational areas. There are many methods for mitigating noise in urban areas, including the formation of the city, the geometry of buildings, vegetation, and sidewalk design, building façade design and using acoustic materials. All these responses for noise mitigation should be considered as environmentally friendly design concepts. The manufacturing of many materials can cause severe environmental pollutions, but by using Polylactic acid material we will save our planet.

People and elephants share landscapes throughout Mozambique. Here elephant conservation management focuses on protected areas but fails to address the conflict that exists between elephants and people. In this thesis I develop a landscape approach to conflict mitigation that is designed to accommodate the needs of people and of elephants in human-dominated landscapes. Mozambique faces a dilemma: politically it is required to reduce poverty while at the same time adhere to international agreements and requirements to protect biodiversity with relatively scarce financial resources. Reactive mitigation of human-elephant conflict (HEC) at the site-specific scale have proven to be costly and with low efficacy. A shift from reactive to proactive HEC mitigation approaches at the county-wide scale (e.g. a district level, the administrative planning body) may provide opportunities to reconcile such apparent contrasting requirements in Mozambique. The elephant population of Mozambique is fragmented and remnant sub-populations are limited to clusters of protected areas in a matrix of human-dominated landscapes. A meta-population perspective may accommodate this spatial structuring and allow for a conservation plan that ensures population persistence and moderate impacts with other species in the landscape. I assessed HEC throughout human-dominated landscapes of Mozambique to examine some assumptions associated with the landscape approach advocated here. I used spatially explicit human activity data, landscape features and elephant distribution at the grid cell of 25 km2 and at the district scale to test the practicality of landscape approaches to elephant conservation and mitigating HEC in the human-dominated landscapes of Mozambique. I then tested whether human activities have significant impacts on elephant numbers and distribution across Mozambique. Furthermore I tested if the costs and benefits of sharing space with elephants influenced HEC. Thereafter, I explored at the grain scale of 25 km2 if the degree of overlap between them on the use of resources can be used to predict the likelihood of HEC across the landscape. Direct and indirect human activities explained trends and rates of elephant population changes in Mozambique. Because most rural households of Mozambique rely on subsistence farming by extracting or cropping from the land, primarily for their own purposes, living close to elephant refuge areas represented a potential risk to humans. However, conflict with elephants does not centre on food security, but on lifestyle being affected by the presence of elephants, which itself was a function of human density. Rodents and insects are the primary agents responsible for food loss during food storage. HEC was not a function of elephant density – a combination of human density, percent cultivated area and human population growth rate best explained HEC incidences. Although at human densities beyond 60 people/km2, elephants disappeared, at low levels of land transformation and low human densities people and elephants co-existed, which may induce higher incidences of HEC. Proximity to roads and suitable land for agriculture were the best predictors for HEC in the rural areas of Mozambique. These results imply spatially driven causes of HEC. These findings supported assumptions that conservation landscapes embedded in different land uses that accommodate ecological needs of people and elephants as well as the likelihood of severity of HEC can ensure elephant conservation without forcing people into poverty. While reactive HEC mitigation actions at site-specific scales are attractive for local communities, proactive measures at the landscape scale may be more effective in the rural context of the distributional range of elephants in Mozambique. HEC can be mitigated proactively through an effective land-use planning that involves zonation and implementation. To address this I extrapolated the relevant findings from resources selection functions models at the 25 km2 grain scale for study locations to a country-wide scale and proposed a model of a likelihood of HEC. The country-wide HEC model yielded high predictive power and confirmed protected areas as sites of high elephant dependability. These models indicate focal areas for short to medium term reactive HEC mitigation measures and local community programs at specific site level. This dissertation suggests that human and elephant co-existence is possible in Mozambique. The apparent increase of HEC is not a function of numbers of elephants but of improper land use planning. In this thesis I argue in favour of a landscape approach to mitigate conflict between elephants and people. This approach should be considered in all national plans that aim to reduce conflict and enhance conservation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Among the world‘s ecosystems, estuaries have the highest total economic value per hectare. They are dynamic coastal biomes that provide a host of different goods and services to the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic environments and the people who utilise them. These goods and services include, inter alia, nursery areas for marine organisms, harvested natural resources (such as fish, shell-fish, bait organisms, reeds and mangroves), flood attenuation, water purification, nutrient and sediment sinks, waste disposal, transport, aesthetic beauty and areas for swimming, boating and fishing. Assessing the condition of estuaries is difficult as their state can change depending on what is being measured. Assessments have been carried out on the health of estuaries in South Africa with the results of these studies being used as inputs to the process of assessing the minimum water supply requirements for each estuary (ecological reserve) in order to maintain or improve its functionality. These ecological reserve requirements are assigned using Resource Directed Measures (RDM). These measures, however, have been criticised for being highly complex and too costly to implement for all South African estuaries within a reasonable time period. Another concern is that the levels of demand for recreational goods and services provided by the estuary are not taken into account when assessing estuarine value. It is important to understand that the use of estuaries for recreational purposes is inextricably linked to their health and sound ecological functioning. Although South African estuaries have been quite well buffered from impacts until only very recently, their use and pressures have escalated faster than what conservation authorities and policy makers have been prepared for over the last couple of decades. There is thus mounting pressure on estuaries as recreational outlets, which, in turn, has led to their functional deterioration as well as deterioration in the quality of the recreational experience as a whole. One implication for management is that more and more trade-offs have to be made in an attempt to balance the conservation and recreational use of estuaries.

A country’s mining policy climate is one of the critical drivers of exploration investment. In light of this, licensing is regarded as the means of optimally managing competing interests in the exploration and development of non-renewable resources through the existing legal and regulatory framework. This research assesses Sierra Leone’s exploration licensing regime within the context of the measures taken to mitigate and/or prevent speculation. It will also provide a deeper understanding of the notion of speculation and its drivers in the mining industry. As well as the context in which such measures have been crafted in the regime and applied in practice. With the ultimate objective being, to measure such provisions against the analytical framework, in respect of “best practice, as well as to identify potential gaps. The methodology adopted for this research involves desktop analyses of Sierra Leone’s current exploration licensing regime, based on recommendations from expert institutions and opinions on mineral exploration, policy, and regulations. It discusses four critical factors of an analytical framework, from which the respective mitigation measures are evaluated. The outcome of the research shows that Sierra Leone’s exploration licensing regime generally demonstrates an aspiration towards “best practice” in exploration licensing. However, the ultimate test of its efficacy invariably lies in strict and consistent adherence to the “equality before the law” and “good governance” principles. These principles form the bedrock upon which the four critical factors of the analytical framework was established. Against this background, the research proves that these principles have been breached in some instances, thereby encouraging speculation to thrive, and possibly impeding the development of the country’s mineral sector. / Mini Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Public Law / MPhil / Unrestricted

Scholarship on disasters in the United States would suggest that emergency managers should play a role in hazard mitigation. Yet, little empirical research has investigated precisely what role or roles emergency managers actually do play during this phase. This study explored the role of county-level emergency managers in hazard mitigation and the factors that might influence those roles. Data for this study was collected through 42 in-depth, telephone interviews with county- level emergency managers in FEMA Regions III, V, and X, which includes the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. Grounded theory was utilized in order to organize and analyze the data. The data suggests that emergency managers play several roles within mitigation: a generic role, a support role, an administrative role, a promoter role, a public educator role, and a planning role. These roles are explained by a number of factors, including conceptual confusion, response and preparedness orientation, financial resource factors, planning factors, additional resource factors, competition between mitigation and development, resistance to mitigation, and engagement in mitigation. It is also important to note that emergency managers spend only a small amount of their time in mitigation. The results of this study suggest that there is a gap between the theorized role and the actual role that emergency managers play within mitigation. Closing this gap will likely require additional resources for mitigation and county-level emergency management, as well as greater consistency in defining mitigation through policy and education.