proceeding of the english full papers - 4th international congress of the islamic world geographers...

Proceedingsofthe 4th International Congress of the Islamic World Geographers (ICIWG2010)

14 16 April 2010

University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

Editors: Mrs Marzie Daraei

Tel:00985418056791

Fax: 00985412416141Email:[email protected] Website:http://iciwgen.webs.com/&http://portal.usb.ac.ir/seminar/

4thInternationalCongressoftheIslamicWorldGeographers(ICIWG2010) 1416April2010 UniversityofSistanandBaluchestan,Zahedan,Iran

Organizers: UniversityofSistanandBaluchestan FacultyofGeographyandEnvironmentalPlaning ResearchCentreforEarthSciencesandGeography(RCESG) IranianGeographicalAssociation

Committees

ScientificChairmanDrMahmoudKhosravi

ExecutiveChairmanDrGholamrezaNoori

MembersofLocalOrganizingCommitteeDrHosseinNegaresh(DeanofGeographyandEnvironmentalPlanningFaculty) DrFaramarzBarimani DrIssaEbrahimZadehAkbad(HeadoftheResearchCentreforEarthSciencesandGeography(RCESG)) DrTaghiTavoosi DrZohrehHadiani DrAliHajinezhad DrHosseinYaghfoori DrJavadBazrafshanFadafen DrSamadFotohi DrSirusGhanbari

Secretariate:MrsMarzieDaraei(English) 1


ABOUTCONGRESS FollowingthesuccessofthethreepreviouscongressesonICIWG,the4thInternationalCongressoftheIslamic World Geographers (ICIWG2010)istorunon 1416April2010intheUniversity ofSistanand Baluchestan. The aim of the 4th ICIWG2010 is to strengthen scientific, research, economic, social and cultural connection betweentheIslamiccountriesgeographers.The4thICIWG2010representsalsoanoccasionforinternational geographerstomeet,discussandgainmutualabilitiesoftheIslamicworldgeographers. CONGRESSOBJECTIVES Truespecificationofthegeographiclandscapesispossiblethroughtherecognitionofnatureandstudyingthe cultureandrootsofthehumanscivilization.Inlinewiththis,knowingthespatialspecificationandformation of the societys body in the geographical realms is highly dependent on cultural data especially human traditionsandreligions.InawaythatsomeofthethinkersacknowledgeAbrahamicreligions,especiallyIslam initssocioculturalaspects,astheunifyingandidentifyingunitofgeographicalspaces,whichisfedbythehigh standards of Islamic culture. Therefore, cultural interpretations in order to evaluate the dynamism of social systemsseemcrucial. Administering three Congresses of Islamic World Geographers in the last years is an attempt to gain the abovementionedgoals.UniversityofSistanandBaluchestanisnowproudlythehostforthefourthone.Global issues in the recent years like population growth, economic crisis, environmental problems, and global warminghasbroughtaboutnumerousdifficultiesintheworld,andmorespecificallyintheIslamicworld.This congressisachanceforscholarsandelitesacrosstheIranandworldtoexchangeideasandoffersolutionsin ordertotakeadvantageoftheavailableopportunitiesforawayoutoftheobstaclesfacingIslamicworldand furthermoreachieveasustainabledevelopment. Information Technology progresses especially in Information Management as well as the entrance of new technologiesinGeographicalSciencessuchasGeographicalInformationSystem(GIS)andRemoteSensing(RS) ofdiscussionsisveryimportantinGeographerssociety.MayalltheIslamicworldgeographersanalysestheir researchexperimentsresultsinordertoovercometheobstaclesofthedevelopmentofthesecountries. 2


CONGRESSTOPICS 1DevelopmentfacilitiesandlimitationsinIslamiccountries. 2TheroleofgeographicalfunctionsinincreasestheconvergenceandunityofIslamicworld. 3 The position of geographers and geographical associations in decision making systems and the process of developmentinIslamiccountries. 4GlobalizationprocessanditschallengesinIslamiccountries. 5EnvironmentalfunctionsanditschallengesinIslamiccountries. 6NewenergiesandtheirstatusinIslamicworld. 7TheroleoftourisminculturalunityinIslamiccountries. 8ClimatechangesanditseffectsonIslamiccountries. 9Waterresourcesmanagement,challenges,andopportunitiesinIslamiccountries. 10GeographyeducationandresearchanditschallengesinIslamiccountries. 11InternationalandregionalcollaborationsasaresolutionofdevelopmentinIslamiccountries. 12PersianGulfeconomicandgeopoliticalimportanceinIslamiccountries. 13Theroleofthegeographicalenvironmentintheformationofcultureandregionalsubcultures. 14NaturaldisastersandhazardsmanagementinIslamiccountries. 15Implementationofnewtechniquesandmodels(GIS,RS)inthemaneuversofIslamiccountries. 16IslamiccountriescivilizationregionsasthebasisofscientificandresearchcooperationinSouthEastIran. 17SilkRoadreconstructionresolutionofdevelopmentinIslamiccountries. 18 Hirmand drainage basin and its role in deepening the historical and geographical ties between Iran and Afghanistan. 19 Exploiting the civilization records of Iran and Indian Subcontinent and its role in linking the Islamic countries. 20TransitionalstatusofSistanandBaluchestananditsroleinbondingIslamiccountries. 21 Transactional and geopolitical status of Chabahar port and its role in strengthening the ties and developmentofIslamiccountries. 22SecurityandcoexistenceofIslamictribesandsectsinSistanandBaluchestanProvince. 23TheimportanceoftheSEIranecotourismandenvironmentalfunctions. 24UtilizingtherelativepreferenceofSistanandBaluchestansophthalmologichighrankanditseffectsinthe supportfortheMuslimsoftheregion. 3


TableofFullPaper PaperNo.ICIWG061* ICIWG09 ICIWG10 ICIWG11

Author/s Prof.KhairulmainiBinOsman Salleh Dr.M.M.Alhassan,Mallam YusufGarba MrAliyuBabaNabegu Dr.SevilSargn,Dr.Kadir Temurin Ayeni,AmiduOwolabi,Soneye AlabiS.O.,BalogunIdowuI. Dr.SyedSultanShah ProfessorGhaziWalidFalah GhulamAkhmat,AmjadNawaz ,ShoaibKhan

Title ClimateInsecurityAndTheChallengeFor MalaysiaAndTheDevelopingWorld FarmersKnowledgeofLandDegradation IssuesInGangaDistrict,DauraEmirate, KatsinaState,Nigeria. TowardsAnIslamicPerspectiveOfTeaching GeographyInIslamicSocieties SpatialDispersionAndAnalysisOfUrban CrimesOfSecurityCommitted AgainstPropertyInTurkey StateOfWaterSupplySourcesAnd SanitationInNigeria:ImplicationsOn MuslimsInIkareAkokoTownship EnvironmentProtectionInTheLightOf IslamicTeachings IsraeliPoliciesOfSpatialTakeover:Planning, EthnicExclusionAndDeArabizationOfEast Jerusalem StormCloudsOfGlobalizationAndThe IslamicWorld

Page 7 20 28 36

ICIWG12

50 60 72 97 104 121 133 146 155 161

ICIWG14 ICIWG15*

ICIWG16 ICIWG17 ICIWG19

Prof.GuChaolin GlobalizationProcessAndItsChallengesIn LiPing NorthwestIslamicCultureAreasInChina MeddiMohamed,TaliaAmel RecentWeatherConditionsAndFlowsInThe ClaudeMartin MactBasin(NorthWestOfAlgeria) BackwardnessOfMuslimsInMaldaDistrict: NazmulHussain,Prof.FarsatAli APlanningApproachForHuman Siddiqui* Development Prof.B.L.Bhadani, JaiSamand:AMarvelOfHydraulic Dr.O.P.Srivastav Engineering SalagHind DrAttaUrRahman,Dr.Amir NawazKhan AnnualVariabilityOfPrecipitationOfThe NorthwestOfAlgeria PlanningForDrought:TowardsThe ReductionOfSocialVulnerabilityInThe HannaUrakValley,Quetta,Balochistan

ICIWG20

ICIWG21 ICIWG22

ICIWG23

1

InvitedSpeakersSeeListofinvitedspeakers

4


PaperNo.ICIWG24

Author/s DrAttaUrRahman,Dr.Amir NawazKhan Kalid.M.Hamaad MikeDevivo DrZulfiqarAli,RashidHussain ParisaShahmohamadi,A.I. CheAni,M.F.I.MohdNor N.M.Tawil,M.Surat

Title CausesAndEnvironmentalImpactsOfFlood Hazard:ACaseStudyOfSampleVillages, SwatValley,Pakistan CivilizationalOfInteraction&Impact Geography AssessingDevelopmentInTheIslamicWorld: AnAlternativeApproach AdaptationMeasuresInEiaAndRisks Management:AnOverviewOfTheLegal FrameworkInPakistan InteractionBetweenUrbanizationAnd ClimaticFactorsInFormationOfUrbanHeat IslandAsAnEnvironmentalChallenge:The CaseOfTehranMetropolitan,Iran ApplicationOfGeographicInformation System(Gis)ForDistributionOfFresh VegetablesConsideringTheVehicleRouting Problem DevelopingNaturalAttractionsFor SustainableTourismInKashan,Iran

Page 181 192 208 220

ICIWG25 ICIWG27

ICIWG28

ICIWG29

233

ICIWG30

MohammadAbousaeidi MehdiEshraghi,Habibah Ahmad,EkhwanMohd Toriman,SaiedKamyabi

250

ICIWG31

259

ICIWG32

*

ICIWG33-

ICIWG34

ICIWG35

ICIWG36*

ICIWG37

UrbanGravity,RuralSettlementsAnd ProfessorSalahuddinQureshi LanduseGradientAMicroLevelSpatial Analysis FamilyStructureAndTheEconomic GhazalSalahuddin StagnationOfTheMuslimIndustrialLabour InThePeripheralWardsOfOldAligarhCity MaryamMaraniBarzani&Prof. TheWorkingOfBoundaryPouringWater Dr.KhairulmainiOsmanSalleh BasinsInTheWayOfSemiAutomatic EstimationOfAgriculturalDynamicsInThe SahilaSalahuddin UrbanFringeOfTheFertileGangaYamuna Doab,India. SpatialPatternsAndDistributionOfDisasters DrAliAsgary InTheOrganizationOfTheIslamic ConferenceMemberCountries mohdEkhwanHjToriman, IssuesOnClimateChangeAndWater SharifahMasturaSyed ResourcesInPeninsularMalaysia:ACaseOf Abdullah,MuhamadBarzani NorthernKedah Gasim

274

281 290 296

301

313

5


PaperNo.

Author/s

Title

Page 319

ICIWG38

ICIWG39 ICIWG40*

ICIWG41*

DrMuhd.BarzaniGasim, LandUseChangeAndClimateChangeOfThe Mohd.EkhwanToriman, CameronHighlands,Pahang,Malaysia SahibinAbd.Rahim,PanIaLun andFaridMidin DrMuhammadRidwaan EnvironmentalFunctionsAndItsChallenges Gallant InMuslimCountries TheRelationsBetweenGolcondaAndIran ProfSyedAyubAli ImpactOfIraniansOnArchitectureDuring TheQutbShahiPeriod MirrorShowsAMyriadFacesAndTime ProfessorT.VasanthaKumaran Tantalizes:Slums,Marginalization,Social andYorkMadrasProjectTeam MovementsAndResilience

329 340

350

ListofInvitedSpeakers Author/sName Prof.KhairulmainiBinOsmanSalleh Prof.SyedAyubAli Prof.AbhaLakhsmiSingh Prof.BernardHourcade Prof.EckartEhlers ThangaveluVasanthaKumaran Prof.FarsatAliSiddiqui ProfessorSalahuddinQureshi ProfessorGhaziWalidFalah Prof.AliMohammad DrAliAsgary MirrorShowsAMyriadFacesAndTimeTantalizes: Slums,Marginalization,SocialMovementsAndResilience SelectionofLegendsforDemarcationofPopulationRegions UrbanGravity,RuralSettlementsAndLanduseGradientA MicroLevelSpatialAnalysis IsraeliPoliciesOfSpatialTakeover:Planning,EthnicExclusion AndDeArabizationOfEastJerusalem SpatialPatternsAndDistributionOfDisastersInThe OrganizationOfTheIslamicConferenceMemberCountries 6 PaperTitle ClimateInsecurityAndTheChallengeForMalaysiaAndThe DevelopingCountriesOfSoutheastAsiaRegion TheRelationsBetweenGolcondaAndIranImpactOfIranians OnArchitectureDuringTheQutbShahiPeriod TheMakingOfANewSocietyInRuralIran


FullPapers

ICIWG06 CLIMATEINSECURITYANDTHECHALLENGEFORMALAYSIAANDTHEDEVELOPING COUNTRIESOFSOUTHEASTASIAREGIONKhairulmainiOsmanSalleh,PhD ProfessorofDepartmentofGeography UniversityofMalaya Tel:60379675504;Fax:60379675457 Email:[email protected]

ABSTRACT TheIPCC2007reportontheScienceofClimateChangeshowsasmallincreaseintemperature(~0.3oC)and rainfall (~ 3%) for the Southeast Asia Region in the last decade or so, however, there is general agreement amongst scientists that the changing behavioural patterns of the elNino ENSO , Monsoons and to a certain extent the Indian Dipole Oscillation circulation systems are triggering weather extremes and variability to influence changing behavioural patterns of hydrometeorological and geomorphological events within the majorriverbasins(forexample,floods,droughts,hazepollution,slopefailuresandtheemergenceofcertain diseases) in the country. In addition to these events, Malaysia would also be exposed to increasing threats (directlyorindirectly)fromlowpressureatmosphericcellsthatdevelopsintheSouthIndianOcean(cyclones) andthePacificSouthChinaSeaRegions(typhoons).Theseeventsaretriggeredbythewarmingoceansurface watersduetotheglobalwarmingclimatechangeeffect.Tothisdatetheimpactofthesechangescanstillbe absorbed by the strong foundations of Malaysias environmental management programmes and backed by stringenteconomicpoliciesincludingeffectivepovertyeradicationandfoodproductionprograms.However,it mustbeunderstoodherethattheenvironmentalpoliciesaddressesonlytheenvironmentalchangethreatand notspecificallytheclimatechangethreatwhereinthelongtermtheimpactscenariowouldgenerallydiverge, and the resilience of Malaysia to the climate change threat would generally decrease and her vulnerability increases.Thisscenariocanchangeifthegradualincreaseinglobalwarmingisleftuncheckedandunabated because increasing global temperatures could lead to thresholds been breached where habitats and ecosystemscouldnotrecovertoexistingequilibriumandstableconditions.Ecosystemsdisequilibriumwould influence human livelihood activities that are very much dependent on their stability. These changes would have a tremendous impact on low income economic systems especially, as they are very dependent on ecosystem resources and conditions such as those associated with coastal fishing, rural agriculture, urban commerce and many forms of rural cottage industries. These low income populations hovers just above the poverty threshold line and any change in their income generation activity would make them fall below the poverty line, and for Malaysia and many countries of the developing world this could compromise the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals Objectives (MDGs). Climate change could also trigger nationalandinternationaldistributionalconflictsandintensifyproblemsalreadyhardtomanageintheregion (interandintraregionalconflicts).Malaysiaandmanycountriesinthedevelopingworldcouldbeaffectedin future conflict scenarios as a result of climate change.Four conflict constellations can be identified inwhich criticaldevelopmentscanbeanticipatedasaresultofclimatechangeimpactonMalaysiaandthedeveloping world. These are, conflict constellations on (1) climateinduced degradation of marine and freshwater resources, (2) climateinduced decline in food production capacities and other environmentally driven 7


economicsystems,(3)climateinducedincreaseincertainhydrometeorologicalandgeomorphologicalevents and (4)climate changeethicaljusticeissuessuchasenvironmentally induceddisplacements andmigration and the deprivation and sustenance of certain livelihood activities. The social impacts of climate change will vary in the different parts of Malaysia and amongst developing countries. Security risks associated with climate change, shows selected hotspots can be identified. The existence of these climate change conflict constellations threaten to overstretch the established national regional global governance system, thus jeopardizing international stability and regional security. The last half decade had witnessed a number of threatening environmental events that are climate change induced. These events will steadily intensify and exacerbates existing environmental risks and have serious repercussions on Malaysia and the developing world.Climateextremes,variabilityandanomalieswillthreatenthebasesofmanyofthecountriespopulace livelihoods and their major economic systems, especially vulnerable are the poor and those living at the thresholdofthepovertyline.Thelowincomeeconomicsystemsareespeciallyvulnerableastheirpracticesare dictated and sustained by climate weather behavioral patterns. Any changes to these behavioral patterns would seriously affects the daily practices and livelihoods of highland farmers, traditional fishing and agriculturepracticesofcoastalregions,andotherformsofruralcottageindustries.Malaysiasandmanyofthe developingcountrieslargescaleeconomicsystemssuchasagriculture,fishing,hydroelectricpowergeneration andtourismrelatedactivitiesarealsovulnerabletoclimatevariabilitiesandextremesastheseindustriestoa majorextentareenvironmentallydriven.ClimatechangewillhitMalaysiaandthedevelopingcountrieshard. Timelyadaptationmeasuresshouldthereforebeanintegralelementofhernationalpolicies.However,most developingcountries,lackstheskillsandcapacitiestoimplementeffectiveadaptationmeasuresatalllevelsof systemsbeenthreatened.Moreover,theimpactsofclimatechangewillincreasethevulnerabilityofweakand themorefragilesystemsandfurtherreducetheiradaptivecapacities.Thenatureofvulnerabilityandresilience of these systems to the climate changethreat needs tobe assessed and understood. Theres not muchthat Malaysiaandthedevelopingcountriescandoinmitigatingandcurtailinggreenhousegasesemission,however theresmuchthatcanbedoneinordertoreducevulnerabilityandresilienceofthepopulationandlivelihood systems.Ingeneralitcanbesaidthatthegreaterthewarming,thegreaterthesecurityriskstobeanticipated, andMalaysiaandthedevelopingcountriesneedtoadapttotheseimpendingrisks. KEYWORDS;climatechangestresses,vulnerablesystems,lowincomepopulations,policyimplications,Malaysia, SoutheastAsiaRegion INTRODUCTION The turn of this new Millennium have witnessed two very significant and challenging threats to the global populace (more so in the developing regions of the world) that have had severe impacts on human security issues (food, health and livelihood activities). These threats come from climate change induced hazards and poverty.Whatisevenmoretantamounttothesethreatsarethepresenceofmulticauseandeffectlinkages between climate change and poverty as seen through the effects of climate change on environmental resources development and the sustenance of human economic activities (subsistence, traditional as well as moderneconomicsystems).Humansecurityissues,forexamplecanbecompromisedwhenglobalpopulations arefacedwithgettingaccesstodailystaplefoodsupplyasaresultofcropfailuresfrommajorgrainproducing regionsoftheworldduetoclimatechange.Evidenceshaveshownthatclimatechangecouldhaveaprofound effectontheonset,timing,duration,frequencyandmagnitudeofhydrometeorologicalevents(suchasthat associated with the behavioral patterns of rainfall events within a particular locality/region).Climate change triggers and generates a whole set of hazards in the environment. Climate variability and extremes caused 8


significantbehavioralchangesinthelocal,regional andglobalclimatestoinduceenvironmentalhazardsinthe formofheatwaves,coldsnaps,stormsurges,floodsanddroughtsinmanypartsoftheworld.Climatechange thus has profound impacts on societal wellbeing. The underdeveloped and developing nations, the poor and marginalised communities and communities whose livelihood activities centers on the practice of simple economic systems and on countries whose economic growth depends on production systems of that are climatically driven and environment dependent such as that associated with the agriculture, energy, and tourismindustrieswouldbethemostaffected.Theserelationshipsbetweenchangingbehavioralpatternsof climate and weather and their impact on the sustenance of economic practices would be become more strenuousinthefuture.Itcanbearguedthatclimatewouldbecomeasecurityissuewhenhumanwelfareare been threatened, for some nationstates, communities and individuals that can lead to population stresses, conflicts and war. Thomas Homer Dixon a major pioneer in environmental degradation and conflict studies throughaseriesofarticleswritteninthe1990sandearly2000describestheemergingissuesofsocialdecay and conflict as a result of environmental degradation. Environmental Security thus describes the inherent carrying capacity of the environment to sustain quality and quantity so as continuously support ecological systemsandhumanvaluesystems.Environmentaldegradationwouldbringaboutenvironmentalinsecurity.Sir JohnTheodoreHoughtonascochairoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange's(IPCC)workinggroup describestheimpactsofglobalwarmingasa"weaponofmassdestruction,whichliketerrorism,thisweapon knowsnoboundaries.Itcanstrikeanywhere,inanyformaheatwaveinoneplace,adroughtorafloodora storm surge in another. The Millennium Project Report of 2005 also describe the emerging importance of environmental security insecurity issues where it was stated in the report that the condition of environmentalsecurityisoneinwhichsocialsystemsinteractwithecologicalsystemsinsustainableways,all individuals have fair and reasonable access to environmental goods, and mechanisms exist to address environmental crisesand conflicts.SirNicholas Stern,Head of theUK GovernmentEconomic Service,anda formerChiefEconomistoftheWorldBankin2006discussedina700pagereportcalledtheSternReviewon the Economics of Climate Change as a result global warming on the world economy. Sterns report suggests thatclimatechangethreatenstobethegreatestandwidestrangingmarketfailureeverseen,anditprovides prescriptionsincludingenvironmentaltaxestominimizetheeconomicandsocialdisruptions.ClimateChange 2007,theFourthAssessmentReport(AR4)oftheUnitedNationsIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange (IPCC), observes many changes in the Earth's climate including atmospheric composition, global average temperatures, ocean conditions, and other climate changes that attributed to human activities. This report states that global warming and climate change would lead to threshold breaches in sensitive systems which couldnotreverttotheiroriginalstates.IntheUnitedStatestheseriousthreatofgreenhousegasesemissions wasconsideredasecuritythreatandgaverisetotheLiebermanWarnerClimateSecurityActof2008the firstclimatechangebilltobedebatedinCongress.Thisbillwashoweverrejectedbycongressonthegrounds thatitwouldnotbenefittheAmericancitizen.SoutheastAsiaisatthemomentconsideredstillsafefromthe impact of climate change. Limited climate data hinders the ability to relate changing climate and oceanic eventstoclimatechangeduetoglobalwarming.Howeverrecentchangesinthebehaviouralpatternsofhydro meteorologicalprocessesofmajorriverbasinsandthedegradationandinundationofitscoastalregionsgive evidencesthattheseeventscouldbeduetotheimpactofchangingMonsoonsandTropicalStormeventsthat are part of the natural climate system of the region. Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, ThailandandMalaysiahavebeenshowntoexperiencechangingpatternsoffloodandcoastalstormsurgesand erosion. Theunderstanding here is that Southeast Asian countries and its very rich environmental resources arevulnerabletothethreatofclimatechange.Temperatureincreasesandsealevelrisewoulddestroymajor ecosystemsanddisruptsruraleconomicpracticeswhicharedependentontheseresources.Inadditiontothis, 9


asadevelopingregion,theGrossDomesticProduct(GDP)ofSoutheastAsiaisverydependentonthecondition of her environment. Regional climate changes could seriously affect agriculture, urban commerce, and includingtheboomingtourismindustryoftheregion.InSoutheastAsia,theimpactofclimatechangecouldbe categorizedintothreemajorimpacts.Theseimpactsare,(1)onthegeneralcomfort,healthandwellbeingof thegeneralpopulation,(2)impactsonthelowincomepopulationsofurbanregions,highlandregionsand coastalisland regions and (3) impacts on modern production systems that are climate driven and environmentdependentsuchastheagriculture,energy,fishing,includingcertainserviceindustriessuch asthetourismindustries.Theobjectivesofthispaperistodiscuss,(1)atheoreticalframeworkofvulnerability study for Malaysia and Southeast Asia, (2) the potential effects of global warming on regional environmental systems, (3), the potential vulnerable systems of the region, (4) why these systems are vulnerable, (5) the adaptation,mitigationandpolicyimplications. TheoreticalFramework ThelasthalfdecadehasshownthattheSoutheastAsiaregionarebecomingmoreexposedandvulnerable tothethreatofclimateextremes,variabilityandanomaliesanditsabilitytoadjustandadapttotheseimposing conditionsarebecomingmoredemandingandwouldcontinuetodosointhenearfuture.Vulnerabilityofthe regiontothesethreatsdescribesitssusceptibilitytobeharmedbythesethreats.Socialscientistsandclimate scientists have different interpretations of the term vulnerability. Social scientists views vulnerability as representingthesetofsociocultural,economic,populationanddemographicfactorsthatdeterminepeoples abilitytocopewithstressorchange,whereas,climatescientistsviewsvulnerabilityasthelikelihoodofimpacts andstressesofweatherandclimateeventsorclimateinducedhazardsonsocietyandsystems.Weatherand climateinducedhazardsoreventsthatdescribechangingbehavioraltrendsofvaluesordeparturesfromthe mean of values of variables such as rainfall, temperature, wind speed, water level, or a combination of parameters that could include factorssuch as speed of onset, duration, intensity, frequency, magnitude and spatial extent. A vulnerable region that is exposed and threatened by climate change induced hazards may include population groups, community, ecosystem, countries, economic sectors, household unit, business or individual.Vulnerabilityinclimatechangestudiesfallsintotwocategories,(1)thepotentialdamagecausedto asystembyaparticularclimateinducedhazardorstress,forexamplewhatwouldbetheimpactofa10mm increaseinsealevelonthesurroundingcoastalecosystems?And(2)thestateofasystembeforeitencounters a hazard event, for examplethe existence of early warning systems within a particular region which is been threatenedbyalowpressuresystems.Climatechangeimpactsstudieshavetypicallyexaminedvulnerabilityof a human system as determined by the nature (behavioral patterns) of the physical events or hazard characteristicstowhichitisexposed,thelikelihoodorfrequencyofoccurrenceofthehazard(s),theextentof human exposure to hazard, and the systems sensitivity (inherent vulnerability and resilience of the system stressandchanges)totheimpactsofthehazard(s)threat.Thisviewisapparentintheprincipaldefinitionof vulnerability in the IPCCThird Assessment Report (TAR)and the Fourth Assessment Report (FAR (IPCC, 2001 and 2007)that describesvulnerabilityas The degree to whicha system issusceptibleto, or unableto cope with,adverseeffectsofclimatechange,includingclimatevariabilityandextremes.Vulnerabilityisafunctionof threecharacter,magnitude,andrateofclimatevariationtowhichasystemisexposed,itssensitivity,andits adaptivecapacity.AdaptivecapacityisTheabilityofasystemtoadjusttoclimatechange(includingclimate variabilityandextremes)tomoderatepotentialdamages,totakeadvantageofopportunities,ortocopewith the consequences. For many human systems (social and physical systems), vulnerability is viewed as an inherentpropertyofthatsystemarisingfromitsinternalcharacteristics.Inherentvulnerabilityisdetermined byfactorssuchaspovertyandinequality,marginalization,foodentitlements,accesstoinsuranceandhousing quality,presenceorabsenceandthestateofinfrastructuresandmitigationmeasures.Thenatureofasystems 10


inherent vulnerability will depend on the nature of the hazard to which the system is exposed; certain properties of a system will make it more vulnerable to certain types of hazard than to others. Within this theoretical framework, thus it is important to understand for the Southeast Asia region, what are (1) the regionalenvironmentalstresses,(2)thevulnerablesystems,and(3)adaptationandmitigationmeasures.The understandingoftherelationshipsofthesethreecomponentswouldinfluencewhatkindofpoliciesthatare neededtoaddresstheclimatechangethreatintheregion. REGIONALENVIRONMENTALSTRESSES The climate of the Southeast Asia region are greatly dictated by the behavioral patterns of the Monsoons (regional wind systems that occur in winter in the Northern Hemisphere where low pressure Northeast and Southwest),theelNinoENSOeventoftheSouthPacificOcean,thelowoceanicpressurecellsoftheWestern PacificOceansSouthChinaSeaRegionsandtheBayofBengalIndianOceanRegions,andtoacertainextent the Indian Dipole Oscillation (IOD) of the Indian Ocean. Monsoons are an annually recurring weather phenomenon, triggered by the earths tilt in relation to the sun. Monsoons develop as a result of changing patternsofatmosphericpressurecausedbythevariedheatingandcoolingratesofcontinentallandmassesand oceans. Thestrongest and mostwellknown monsoons are those which affect India and Southeast Asia. The summermonsoon,whichblowssouthwesterlyacrosstheIndianOcean,isextremelywet.Thewintermonsoon, in contrast, blows northeasterly and is generally dry. El Nio or sometimes called ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) is an oscillation of the oceanatmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequencesforweatheraroundtheglobe.Innormal,nonElNioconditionsthetradewindsblowtowards thewestacrossthetropicalPacific.ThesewindspileupwarmsurfacewaterinthewestPacific,sothatthesea surfacetemperaturesismuchhigherintheSoutheastAsiaRegionandNorthernAustraliathaninwesternparts ofSouthAmerica.ThecooltemperaturesoffSouthAmerica,isduetoanupwellingofcoldwaterfromdeeper levels. This cold water is nutrientrich, supporting high levels of primary productivity, diverse marine ecosystems,andmajorfisheries.Rainfallisfoundinrisingairoverthewarmestwater,andtheeastPacificis relativelydry.DuringElNiothetradewindsrelaxinthecentralandwesternPacificandbackwardsloshing effectofseasurfacetemperatureswithariseinseasurfacetemperaturesinwesternpartsofSouthAmerica resultinginadrasticdeclineinprimaryproductivity,thelatterofwhichadverselyaffectedhighertrophiclevels ofthefoodchain,includingcommercialfisheriesinthisregion.Rainfallfollowsthewarmwatereastward,with associated flooding in Peru and drought in Indonesia and Australia. The eastward displacement of the atmospheric heat source overlaying the warmest water results in large changes in the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn force changes in weather in regions far removed from the tropical Pacific. This centuryhadwitnessedanincreasingfrequencyandintensityofElNinoeventswiththe1997ElNinobeingthe worst.DryweatherassociatedwithElNinoeventsnotonlybringsaboutdroughtinmanypartsofSoutheast Asia, but it also contributes to the combustion of peatlands and the intensification of atmospheric haze pollution.Lowoceanicpressurecells(LOPCs)arelowpressuresystemsortropicaldepressionsthatdevelopin thewesternPacificOceanSouthChinaSearegions,andintheIndianOceanBayofBengalregions.Theselow pressuresystemsusuallystartsofasalowpressuredepression,intensifyingintotropicalstormsandfinallyinto fullblowntyphoonsinthewesternpacificsouthchinasearegionandcyclonesintheIndianoceanBayof Bengal region. The impact of these LOPCs are becoming more frequent as witnessed by recent events that affectscountrieslikeMyanmar,thePhilippinesandVietnamrecently.TheIODisaclimatemodethatoccurs interannually in the tropical parts of the Indian Ocean. During a positive IOD event, the seasurface temperature(SST)dropsinthesoutheasternpartoftheIndianOcean:offthenortherncoastofAustralia,the easterncoastofJapanandthroughoutIndonesia;whiletheSSTrisesinthewesternequatorialIndianOcean: 11


off the eastern coast of Africa, from the northern half of Madagascar to the northern edge of Somalia. Furthermore, convective patterns increase in the northern half of Africa, India and off the eastern coast of Africa.ApositiveIODbringsheavyraintoEastAfricaanddroughtstoIndonesiaandpartsofAustralia.Usually, partsofEastAsiaincludingJapansufferfromdryhotconditionsduringapositiveIODeventwhereasSoutheast Asiasuffersfromfloods.ThereisananalogousnegativeIODwhichis,ineffect,thereversalofthepositiveIOD completewithincreasedconvectiveactivityoverAustralia,IndonesiaandJapan.Studyingandmonitoringthe IODwillnotonlyincreaseweatherandclimateforecastingcapabilitiesintheIndianOcean,itwillcontributeto general understanding of oceanatmosphere dynamics and has the potential to provide new insight to the puzzlepresentedbycurrentglobalclimatevariability.Theseatmosphericandoceanicsystemscontrolthelocal river basin hydrology and thus their effects on local/ regional climate. Major hydrological processes such as floodsanddroughtsintheregionaredeterminedbythebehavioroftheseatmosphericandoceanicprocesses and to amajorextentthe developmentandsustenance of economic activitiesof theregion.Changestothe behavioral patterns of these major circulation systems would bring about an increase in the time of onset, timingofoccurrence,intensity,frequency,magnitude,anddurationofimpactoffloods,droughts,lowpressure storm and anomalies, ecological manifestations, emergence of diseases in new regions (such as highlands), accelerated erosion, rapid slope failures and associated debris flow and other forms of climate induced hazards.TheThird and FourthAssessment Report (TAR and FAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC,2001;2007)statesthatclimatechangewillleadtoanintensificationoftheglobalhydrological cycleandcanhavemajorimpactsontheregionalcirculationsystems.TheIPCCFAR(2007)statesthatinlast decade temperature and rainfall had increased by about 3 percent for the Southeast Region. This increased could be interpreted as small but it should be interpreted with caution as the emerging impact of climate changeinducedhazardsintheregioncouldberelatedwiththisincreaseanditispostulatedthatanincrease of 1.4 to 6.0 degrees in the next 100 years (IPCC FAR, 2007) would trigger greater impacts in the future. In SoutheastAsia,climatedataislimitedonlytothelast50yearsorso,thislimitedspanofdatarecordsmakeit difficulttoshowwhetherclimatevariabilityandclimateextremesexperiencedinthelastdecadeorsoispart of the natural process cycles or the manifestation of global warming on regional and local climates and weather.Whatisimportanthoweverfortheregionisthatthethreatsposedbyfloods,atmospherichaze,slope failure, droughts and outbreak of dengue, malaria and the Japanese Encephalitis virus or JE are directly or indirectly related to climate and other forms of climate induced hazards have the potential to threaten her populationcomfort,healthandlivelihoodactivities.ItisthisnewdimensioninthreatthattheAssociationof Southeast Asian Nations in its latest Environmental Ministers Meeting has called for a reassessment of each countrysdevelopmentpolicysoastoincorporatetheclimatechangethreatandbebetterpreparedforany formsofthreatsinthefuture. VULNERABLESYSTEMS TheeconomicgrowthperformanceofSoutheastAsiasincethe1997financialcrisisshouldbecommended.Like mostdevelopingregionhereconomicperformanceismuchdictatedbynotonlythequalityandavailabilityof environmentalresourcesbutalsoontheconditionofclimate.Manyoftheregionsruraleconomicpractices andthemoderneconomicproductionsystemsaregovernbytheconditionoftheenvironmentandbehaviour of the seasons. Climate extremes and variability would have severe impact on the regions natural environment.Sealevelrisewouldinundatemuchoftheregionscoastalregionsanddeltas,aggravatescoastal erosion,saltwaterintrusionandgroundwatercontamination,anddestructionofmuchofhercoastalregions. CountriessuchasVietnam,thePhilippines,IndonesiaandMalaysiawhichhaveverylongcoastlinesandmany islandsaresubjectedtothethreatofsealevelrise.SoutheastAsiasrichbiodiversityforests,waterresources 12


and marine ecosystemsincludingitsveryrich coral systemswould be threatenedby increasingland andsea temperatures and could have serious impact the present human activities of the region such as on her agriculture,fishing,tourism,energyandtheruralurbancommerceinthefuture.Thoughtheeffectofrecent climateinducedeventshavenotaffectedtheperformanceofthesemajoreconomicsystems,thebehavioral patternsoftheseeventscouldchangewithfutureclimatechangeandtheimpactonthesesystemscouldbe significantandthusinfluencefutureGDPsoftheregion.Thesesystemsneedtoassesstheirpresentstateof level of vulnerability and resilience to the climate change threat and carry out adaptation and mitigation programs.However,majoreconomicsystemshavethecapacitytoadapttochangesbutnotsothetraditional and simple lowincome economic systems which arequite predominant in many parts of the region andare oftenassociatedwiththepoorandlowincomegroup.Thisencouragingperformancehaveactedascatalyststo the implementation of many large scale economic programmes and rural transformations which to a major extenthelpstoelevatetheeconomicwellbeingandqualityoflifeofthegeneralpopulation.SoutheastAsiahas done tremendously well in the efforts to combat poverty and there is a general trend that poverty has decreased tremendously in the last half decade or so. Southeast Asia has an enviable record in terms of achieving success in poverty reduction. The first and the most important step in the study of poverty is the determinationofthepovertyline.Povertylinesareusedinestimatingtheincidenceofpovertyaswellasin examining the nature and severity of poverty in any given country. Poverty lines may be determined in differentcountriesusingtheabsoluteorrelativeconcepts.Inmostdevelopingcountriestheabsoluteconcept of poverty line or some variant of it is used. Even within a country, several poverty lines are usually in existence. These poverty lines refer to different geographical regions, for example rural and urban, or for differenttimeperiodsorforhouseholdsofdifferentsizesandcomposition.Thoughtherearemajordebateson what value should constitute the poverty line the expectation is that this threshold value should be able to provideforacomfortableanddecentlivingofthehouseholdmemberswithoutanybreakdownonthewhole rubricofsocialstructuresofthathouseholdunit.Thisthresholdvaluealsodescribesthelevelofvulnerability (to use the metaphor money got money buys) inherent in the household unit and its ability to adapt to imposing conditions detrimental to its survival that could undermine its stability and continued sustenance. Poverty reduction programmes could thus be summarized as consisting of two main objectives to reduce vulnerabilityandincreasetheadaptivecapacitiesoftheindividualhouseholdunittoachieveandsustainsome levelofqualityoflifestandards.Computationofthepovertylinevaluemusttakeintoaccountoftheclimate changethreatasthecostsofadaptingtosustainhouseholdcomfort,healthandlivelihoodeconomicactivities wouldbecostlyandincreasingasglobalwarmingincreases.ThoughtheincidenceofpovertyinSoutheastAsia isratherdiversebetweencountriesthepresentpovertylinevaluewouldnotbesufficienttooffsettheclimate changethreat.EvenfordevelopedcountriessuchastheEuropeanUnionandtheUnitedStateswhosepoverty line index is much higher than the countries of Southeast Asia, the adaptive capacities of the population to adapttotheclimatechangethreatisverymuchlimitedasevidentbythenumberofdeathsattributedtoheat waves and coldsnaps. Hurricane Katrina which hits the Gulf Coast of the United States for theperiod2329 August 2005 brought about death and destruction costing billions of dollars, population displacements, and poverty and changing social structures. What this means is that there is a substantial percentage of the countryspopulationwhosehouseholdincomemightbehigherthanthepovertylinevaluebutwouldbestill beexposedtotheclimatechangethreattheyarevulnerableandtheiradaptivecapacitieslimited.Another factor that needs to be considered is the cause effect linkages between climate change, environmental resourcesdevelopmentandpoverty.Themetaphorthepoorergetspoorerandtherichergetspoorercould beusedtoexplainwheneconomicsystemsthatareverydependentonclimateasaresourcefailsasaresultof climate change. Rural economic systems which are environment driven such as that found in the Southeast 13


Asiashighlands,coastalislandregionsandurbanregionswhereeconomicactivitiesareoftenbeendirectly orindirectlydictatedbythebehavioralpatternsofclimateandweatherarethemostsusceptibletochangesin thecauseeffectlinkagesbetweenclimatechange,environmentalresourcesdevelopmentandtheincidence ofpoverty.AccordingtotheIPCC(2007)thetotaltemperatureincreasefrom18501899to20012005is0.76o C (0.57oC to 0.95oC), this amount of increase spanning ~ 150 years have set in motions changing behavioral patternswithintheatmospheric,oceanicandlandbased(drainagebasins)circulationsystems.Elevenofthe lasttwelveyears(19952006)rankamongthe12warmestyearsintheinstrumentalrecordofglobalsurface temperature (since 1850) and are thought to influence the increasing intensity, frequency, magnitude of impacts,duration,timeofonsetandtimingofoccurrenceoflowpressuresystemcellsacrossthePacificand Atlantic Oceans (WMO, 2007). What is important here is that the postulated gradient of temperature trend increasesfrom2007to2100wouldbemuchmoresteeper(althoughbasedondifferentscenariosprojection models of fossil fuel utilization) and the implications on the Earths atmospheric, oceanic and land based systems (river basins) circulation behavioral patterns should change drastically and certain threshold boundaries within the systems breached and the impact on poverty and human security issues would be cataclysmic.InSoutheastAsia,thevulnerabilityofthepeopleassociatedwithlowincomeeconomicsystems couldbethefunctionofmanyfactors.Ingeneralthesefactorsdescribes,(1)thepopulationanddemographic structureofthehouseholdmembers,(2)theireconomiclivelihoodactivities,(3)thephysicalcharacteristicof the household unit (4) the immediate living environment, (5) the exposure to climate induced hazards, (6) inherentcopingmechanismsand(7)theexistenceofinfrastructureandsupportsystems.Inadditiontothisit couldbeaddedthat(8)thenatureofawareness(apathy,sympathyorempathy)totheclimatechangethreat. Limitedknowledgeandawarenessofclimatechangethreatcouldhindertheirimmediateresponse)actions)to anyformofclimatechangeinducedhazardswhichcouldbecostlyorfatalinthefuture.Thefailureandsuccess of implementing early warning systems for climate change induced hazards (floods, droughts, outbreak of vector borne diseases, heat waves etc.) would be dependent on the level of the systems awareness on the nature of the threat that they are exposed . Vulnerability, resilience and the ability to cope and adapt to impendingclimateinducedhazardswouldbemorechallengingtothelowerincomegroups.Thesecomponents ofsocietyareinvolvedwithsimplelowincomeeconomicsystemsderivedanddictatedbythevagariesofman environment relationships. Southeast Asias economic development programmes and urban rural transformations have improved substantially the quality of life of these people. However, the region is physically and culturally diverse such that many of the regions low income populations are still below the povertylinethresholdandtherearestillmanythathoveraroundthesethresholdboundaries.Therearemany waystoclassifythesegroupsoflowincomepopulationswhichcouldbebasedontheireconomicactivitiesor asusedbytheauthorbasedontheirgeographicaldistributions.Thethreemajorregionsdistinguished,based on the nature of how climate change can induced changes to economic systems practices based on man environment relationships in the regions. These low income economic systems are found in, (1) the urban regions,wherethemostcriticalgroupsaretheurbanpoorwhoseincomeactivitiesaremostlyassociatedwith informal activities, (2) highland regions, where the low economic systems are associated with traditional practicesofagriculturecultivationandtheharvestingofforestproducts,and(3)thecoastalandislandregions, thelowincomepopulationsherearegenerallyassociatedwiththetraditionalfishingandagriculturalpractices. Though these three regions shows a general picture of the existence of low income economic systems, the economic performance of these systems do fluctuate as dictated by the nature of man environment relationships.Asanexample,theeconomicperformanceofthefishingcommunitiesofNorthEasternRegionof peninsular Malaysia is very much dictated by weather conditions in the South China Seas, which are much, determinebythebehaviouroftheLOCPs,ENSOandNortheastMonsoon(seePlate1).Also,itshouldbenoted 14


here that there are other components of society such as that which belongs to the lower hierarchy of government and private sector employment though not belonging to below the poverty threshold but are within distance of it and are also postulated to belong to that part of the population which have high vulnerability,lowresilienceandpoorcopingandadaptivemechanismstoanyformsofenvironmentalstresses. There are generic as well as specific characteristics of the low income economic systems of the urban, highlandsandcoastalislandregionsthatdescribetheirvulnerability.Themaingenericvulnerabilityindicatoris theirincome.Incomehereisdefinedbythetotalremunerationafamilyreceivedinaday,whichcouldthenbe translated to monthly or yearly earnings (this is because in general the source of income is not fixed and consistent). However, for low income economic systems, daily income is much more important as the daily activitiesof the household unit are defined and governed by its daily income, with limited savings available. Whateverlimitedsavingsthatareavailablewouldbeusedforothersocialobligationsinherentintheculture systems of the society which includes providing for their children education, religious obligations and needs associatedwithincreasingtheperformanceoftheireconomicactivitiessuchasinvestinginbettermachineries and technologies and others. The more specific indicators of vulnerability are associated with the nature / behavior of the prevalent / impendent local environmental stress, the sociodemographic profile of the communities at risk, their external and living environment and inherent cultural practices. To add to these indicatorsarethecommunitieslevelofawareness,whethertheyperceivedenvironmentalstressaspartofthe normal cycle of manenvironment relationships or whether the effect of environmental stress is actually changing and would influence their future relationships with the environment. People develop coping strategies to deal with climate variability as with other shocks or stresses. These include building social networks as forms of insurance, traditional forecasting in order to be prepared for climatic changes and ingeniousmeansofprotectingassetssuchastheuse,inAsia,offloatingseedbedsintimesoffloods.However, the poors range of coping strategies is naturally more restricted by their lack of assets and by the other stressesontheirlivelihoods.Thepoorandlowincomepopulationsarealreadystrugglingtocopewithcurrent climatevariability.

LowIncomeEconomicSystemsofCoastalRegionssuchasthisprocessingoffishproductsofNortheasternPart ofWestMalaysiapredominatesinmanypartsofSoutheastAsiaRegionanddependentontheconditionsofthe environment 15


ADAPTATIONTOCLIMATECHANGEANDPOLICYIMPLICATIONS Manydefinitionsofadaptationexist;broadlyspeakingitmaybedescribedastheabilityorcapacityofasystem to modify or change its characteristics or behavior so as to cope better with existing or anticipated external stresses.Thetermadaptationisusedheretomeanadjustmentsinasystemsbehaviorandcharacteristicsthat enhance its ability to cope with external stresses. The adaptation process would be determined to a large extentby,(1)thenatureofthehazardtowhichasystemmustadapt,and(2)thetypeofsystemthatisunder threat.Aparticularhazardwouldbemoredetrimentalintermsofimpactsoncertaintypesofsystemswhilst havingnoimpactatallonothers.Ontheotherhand,differenttypesofsystemswouldexhibitdifferentlevels ofvulnerabilityandresiliencetoaparticularhazard.Certainfactorswillmakeasystemparticularlyvulnerable tospecifictypesofhazard,whileotherfactorsmightmeanthatasystemhasahighcapacitytoadapttosome hazards but not others. For example, the presence of early warning systems that detect, communicate and mobilizeactionswillenableaparticularhumansystemtoadapttoanincreasedfrequencyofclimateinduced hazard. An absence of early warning systems, however, would not enable human systems to adapt to the threateffectively.However,noneofthesefactorswilldirectlyreducepeoplesvulnerabilityto,orhelpthem adapt to, floods or other climate induced threats. It is therefore necessary to describe such factors as representinggenericandspecificneedsofvulnerabilityandadaptivecapacity. Wemightrefer to factors suchaspovertyandinequalityasrepresentinggenericvulnerabilityandadaptivecapacity,i.e.asfactorsthat determinevulnerabilityandthecapacitytoadapttoawiderangeofhazards.Ifwewereperforminganational assessmentforaparticularcountrywemightproceedfirstbyassessingthatcountrysgenericvulnerabilityand adaptivecapacityinordertoidentifyneedsandoptionsforincreasingthecountrysabilitytocopewithawide rangeofhazards.Wewouldthenidentifytheprincipalexistinghazardsthatalreadyhavesignificantnegative impacts on a regular basis, and potential future hazards that represent the most likely threats to human welfare and economic development. Existing hazards are easily identified from the recent historical record, while potential future hazards might be identified through modeling studies, historical or palaceclimatic analogy, analysis of existing trends and a consideration of physical principles. Once such hazards had been identified,assessmentsofspecificvulnerabilityandadaptivecapacitycouldbecarriedoutforeachhazardin turn. The identification of priority hazards and of vulnerability to them is essentially an exercise in the assessmentofoutcomerisk.Withinthecontextoftheframeworkoutlinedabovewemayviewtheoutcome riskassociatedwithaparticulartypeofhazardoveragivenperiodoftimeasafunctionofeventriskandthe social/inherent vulnerabilityof theexposedsystems and populations. The way in whichevent risk isdefined willdependonthenatureofthehazardwithwhichweareconcerned.Eventriskmightrefertotheprobability of occurrence of a single unique or long returnperiod event, or to the actual or project frequency of occurrence of a recurring hazard. We might be interested only in the occurrence of events whose severity exceedsagivenphysicallydefinedthreshold,orwemightwishtodefineeventriskintermsofthefrequencyof occurrenceofaparticulartypeofhazardcombinedwithsomemeasureofintensity,perhapsbasedonmeanor peak severity. The climate is becoming more variable and creating additional risks so that the poor are becomingmorevulnerable.Asclimateextremesarecovariantrisks(i.e.simultaneouslyaffectingawiderange of people), current safety nets are likely to be overwhelmed. This includes both formal systems (e.g. social assistance),andinformalsystems(e.g.socialnetworks).ManyofSoutheastAsiancountriesarealreadytaking action to adapt to climate change, beginning with an analysis of their vulnerability. Vulnerability to climate variabilityhassignificantimplicationsfortheachievementoftheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals.Development mustbebasedonunderstandingexistingandfuturevulnerabilitiestoclimateriskifitistoberesilienttothe risksofclimatechange.Insomecasesclimatechangeaddsurgencytocurrentactivitiestoimprovepoliciesand institutional mechanisms that impact on the poor. In other instances there may be a case for changes in 16


planning or institutional reform to take account of climate risks, or for building additional capacity into infrastructureinvestment.Whatevertheresponse,itshouldbeanintegralpartofdevelopmentplanningand involvesanumberofstepsunderstandingthevulnerabilitiesandcapacitiesofthepoor,andunderstanding the impacts of climate variability on the poor which requires an understanding of their vulnerability to all externalshocks(stresses)andtrendsandtheircopingstrategies.Vulnerabilityanalysiscanbestrengthenedby understandingclimatehazardsbetter.UntilrecentlythepredictionsprovidedbytheavailableGlobalClimate Models (GCMs) have been on too coarse a scale and too long term to have much relevance to developing country policy makers. Based on an understanding of vulnerability, support can be given to supporting poor peoples coping capacity for future shocks. This means governments sharing the burden of climate risks and taking specific actions to reduce the vulnerability of the poor. Integrating climate risks into development planning. Responding to climate variability requires development agencies and governments to work on the development of strategic planning systems, which take account of current and projected climate patterns. Compared with industrialised countries, Southeast Asian countries have small greenhouse gas emissions, making mitigation a less urgent priority. Adaptation is very important to Southeast Asian countries because they are more vulnerabletothe impacts of climatechangebecause of (1)the existenceof low incomerural populationsinlowlyingcoastalregions,(2)thedependenceoftheeconomicactivitiesofthesepopulationon the environment, (3) modern economic production systems which are environmentally driven, and (4) the presence of very rich and diverse habitats and ecosystems which are sensitive to climate. Broadly speaking, therearetworeasonsforthisvulnerability.Thefirstisthelowadaptivecapacityhighlevelsofpovertyanda relative lack of the financial capability, institutional strength, skills, infrastructure, technology and other elementsneededtocopewiththeeffectsofclimaticshifts.Theotherisgeographiclocation:largenumbersof poorpeopleliveinareassuchasthemajorriverdeltasoftheMekonginVietnam,IrrawaddyinMyanmar,and theMenamChaoPhrayainThailand.Relianceonclimatesensitivesectorssuchasagricultureandfishingisalso highindevelopingcountries.TheIPCCrecognisesSoutheastAsiatobeoneofthemostvulnerableregionsto climate variability and change because of multiple stresses and low adaptive capacity. In Southeast Asia, coastal areas, especially heavilypopulated delta regions , will be at greatest risk due to increased flooding fromthe sea and, in some deltas, flooding from the rivers. The IPCC alsostates that small islands,suchas those found in the Philippines and Indonesia, have characteristics which make them especially vulnerableto theeffectsofclimatechange,sealevelriseandextremeevents.Therearetwotypesofresponsestothethreat ofclimatechange.Thefirst,mitigation,involvesreducingemissionsofgreenhousegasesasawayofslowingor stopping climate change. The second, adaptation, is learning to cope with temperature increases, increasing rainfall,floods,droughtsandthehighersealevelassociatedwithclimatechange.Adaptiveresponsescanbe technological(suchasseadefenceconstruction),behavioural(suchasalteredfoodandrecreationalchoices), managerial(suchasalteredfarmadaptationtoclimatechangeneedstobemainstreamedintodevelopment policy and practice at national, international and regional levels. Particular attention needs to be paid to supporting communitybased approaches to adaptation. Building on the considerable body of knowledge alreadypossessedbypoorpeopleisessential.RuralfarmersoftheuplandregionsofmainlandSoutheastAsia canlearnfromthepracticesofthefarmersintheYamunaRiverareaofRajasthan,India,forinstance,where thepoorcommunitiesthere,haverevivedtraditionalrainwaterharvestingmethodsintheformofjohads smallsemicirculardamsandhelpedrechargegroundwaterandvirtuallydroughtprooftheirvillages.Atthe country level response, climatic change is just one aspect of the external events and changes to which economies and societies must adapt. Southeast Asian governments can, however, attempt to increase the resilience of their growth strategies to the impacts of increasing climate variability and climate change. Unfortunately there is, as yet, littleexperienceof best practice of adaptation to climate change on which to 17


draw,butexperienceofmoregeneraladaptiveeconomicpoliciesofferssomepointers.Maintaintheprinciples ofgoodeconomicpolicythatassistadjustmenttoexogenousfactorssuchasclimateshocks.Governmentscan bestdothisby,Maintainingapolicyenvironmentconducivetochangingmarkettrends?Governmentsshould allow prices to reflect the changing availability of resources and avoid economic instruments such as guaranteedpricesorquotaswhichmaydistort rationaldecision making atatimewhenchangeisneeded; Avoidingmechanisticresponsesthatimposedirectorindirectsubsidiestoprotectthestatusquo,andresultin increasingly large and unsustainable fiscal burdens; Including contingencies for climatic variability within budget planning processes; Encouraging individuals to move away from geographical areas or sectors most affected by climate change; and removing restrictions that confine the poor to increasingly unsustainable livelihoodsormarginalareas.Supporttechnologicaldevelopmentandtheprovisionofinformationinsectors that will allow individuals and markets to adapt to, or mitigate the impact of climate change. These could include newvarietiesof crops or adoptionof more waterconserving technologies byindustry. Governments havearoleindisseminatinginformationonforecastclimaticevents,andforecastimpactsonnaturalresources, waterresourcesanddisease.ManySoutheastAsiancountrieshaveagoodcoreofprofessionalplannersand managers operating in key development sectors. But they are usually unaware of the potential impacts of climate change on their sector. Climate risk assessment studies to determine how robust infrastructure, servicesandotherelementsofdevelopmentwillbeinthefaceofclimatechangeneedstobeincorporated into development activities by all these professionals. For example, professionals involved in planning and managing for irrigation, flood management and drinking water provision need to factor climate change risk managementintotheirregularpracticesfordesigningwaterstructuresandmeasures.Vulnerabilitytoclimate changecanbereducedorincreasedbythechoiceofdevelopmentpath.Forexample,nationalinvestmentin largescaleagriculturalprogrammesmaybemisplacedifmoredroughtsandflashfloodsareexpected.Small scale drought resistant agriculture might be more sustainable in the long term. Each country needs its own plans and institutions to ensure adaptation is both mainstreamed into development activities (such as integratedwaterresourcesmanagement)andconsideredatastrategicplanninglevel(forexample,planning for increased malaria incidence in the health sector). Incorporating climate change risks into national development activities at both project and strategic levels requires greater institutional capacity in most SoutheastAsiancountries. CONCLUSIONS Thepotentialthreatofclimatechangeinducedhazardsexacerbatingimpactsoneconomicdevelopmentand progressintheSoutheastAsianshouldnotbetakenlightly.AlthoughtheIPCC2007reportontheScienceof ClimateChangeshowsasmallincreaseintemperaturefortheSoutheastAsiaRegioninthelast50yearsorso, there is general agreement amongst scientists that the changing behavioral patterns of the , Low Oceanic Pressure Cells (LOPCs) such as tropical storms, typhoons and cyclones, and the elNino Southern Oscillation (ENSO),Monsoons,andtoacertainextenttheIndianDipoleOscillation(IOD)circulationsystemsaretriggering weather extremes and variability to influence changing behavior patterns of hydrometeorological and geomorphologicalevents(floods,droughts,haze pollution andslope failures) intheregion.Tothisdatethe impact of these changes can still be absorbed by the strong foundations of Southeast Asias environmental managementprogrammesandbackedbyitsstringenteconomicpoliciesincludingeffectivepovertyeradication programs.However,thisscenariocanchangeifthegradualincreaseinglobalwarmingisleftuncheckedand unabatedbecauseincreasingglobaltemperaturescouldleadtothresholdsbeenbreachedwherehabitatsand ecosystems could not recover to existing equilibrium and stable conditions. Southeast Asian countries must strengthenedherenvironmentalmanagementprogrammesandtheirimplementationstakingintoaccountthe 18


climate change threat. In relation to this the countries of Southeast Asia needs to address the issues of vulnerabilityandadaptivecapacitiesofhereconomicssystemsmoresothatwhicharebeenpracticedbythe poor or those within boundaries of the poverty line. The poor are especially vulnerable and their inherent adaptivecapacitiesandcopingmechanismslow.SoutheastAsiancountriesneedstoreassessthesignificance oftheexistingpovertylinevaluetotakeintoaccountthechallengeofclimatechangethreatandgivesthepoor andthoselivingwithinthefringesofthepovertylinetobeabletoreducetheirvulnerabilitytothethreat.The majorityofthoselivingwithinthefringeofthesepovertythresholdsarethosethatinvolvesthemselveswith lowincomeeconomicsystemsasfoundintheurban,highlandsandcoastalislandregionsofthecountry.This howeverneedstobedonewithinthecontextofstreamliningexistingenvironmentalmanagementstrategies withinthecontextofexistingNationalEconomicDevelopmentprogrammestoincorporatetheclimatechange threat. REFERENCES Ashok, K., Z. Guan, and T. Yamagata (2001). Impact of the Indian Ocean Dipole on the Decadal relationship betweentheIndianmonsoonrainfallandENSO,Geophys.Res.Lett.28,44994502. HomerDixon, T., 1991. On the threshold: environmental changes as causes of acute conflict. International Security16(2),76116. HomerDixon, T. and Blitt, J., (Eds) 1998. Ecoviolence: Links among Environment, Population, and Security. RowmanandLittlefield,Lanham. Parry,M.,RosenzweigC.,IglesiasA.,FischerG.,LivermoreM.,1999.Climatechangeandworldfoodsecurity:A newassessment.GlobalEnvironmentalChange9(supplementaryissue),5167. Sanchez, P., 2000. Linking climate change research with food security and poverty reduction in the tropics. Agriculture,Ecosystems&Environment82(13),371383. Findley, S. 1994 Does Drought Increase Migration? A study from Rural Mali during 198385. International MigrationReview,VolXXVIINo.3. Department of International Development, 2004a. The Impact of Climate Change on the Vulnerability of the Poor.GlobalandLocalEnvironmentTeam,PolicyDivision,DFID. Department of International Development 2004b. The Impact of Climate Change on the Impact of the Poor. GlobalandLocalEnvironmentTeam,PolicyDivision,DFID. DOWNINGT.E.ANDA.PATWARDHAN2007.AssessingVulnerabilityforClimateAdaptation.TechnicalPaper3: AssessingVulnerabilityforClimateAdaptation. Katherine, V. 2004. Creating an index of social vulnerability to climate change for Africa. Tyndall Centre WorkingPaperNo.56August2004 ClimateChange2007ThePhysicalScienceBasis.ContributionofWorkingGroupItotheFourth.Assessment ReportoftheIPCC.(ISBN9780521880091Hardback;9780521705967Paperback) ClimateChange2007Impacts,AdaptationandVulnerability.ContributionofWorkingGroupIItotheFourth AssessmentReportoftheIPCC.(ISBN9780521880107Hardback;9780521705974Paperback) Climate Change 2007 Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth. AssessmentReportoftheIPCC.(ISBN9780521880114Hardback;9780521705981Paperback). JohnHoughton:Globalwarmingisnowaweaponofmassdestruction.ThisarticleappearedintheGuardianon MondayJuly282003.Itwaslastupdatedat10:47onJuly282003. 19


ICIWG09 FARMERSKNOWLEDGEOFLANDDEGRADATIONISSUESINGANGADISTRICT,DAURA EMIRATE,KATSINASTATE,NIGERIA. DR.AlhassanMammanMuhammad,2MallamYusufGarba, 1 SeniorLecturer,2Student, DepartmentofGeographyandEnvironmentalManagement, UniversityofAbuja,P.M.B.117,AbujaNigeria.1

ABSTRACT This study examined farmers' knowledge about land degradation, their understanding and interpretation of factorsrelatedtosoilfertility decline;their responsestolanddegradation;their viewson theseriousnessof theproblem;howtheirperceptionsinfluencedthemanagementpracticesoftheirfarmlandswithinthestudy area;variationinfarmersperceptionoflanddegradation/soilfertilitydeclinebetweenrespondentsinGanga District(Ganga,Godai,Shadambu,TambuandMazoji);andtheinfluencelevelofeducation,genderandage exert on farmers perception of land degradation/soil fertility decline issues in Ganga District of Daura Local Government Area, Katsina State. Two hundred and forty questionnaires were administered to respondents withinthestudyarea.Purposefulsamplingtechniquewas usedtoselect famersthat areactivelyinvolvedin farming practices in the area. The farmers were surveyed between December 2008 to January 2009 which coincided with the periodwhen land preparation and planting were actively being done. The study involved administration of a semistructured questionnaire supplemented with oral interview and field observations. Resultsobtainedindicatethatmostfarmersintheareaareawareoflanddegradationprocessesoccurringon their farmlands; the level of awareness is highest among the more educated inhabitants of the area that gender and that age has little or an insignificant influence on the way farmers perceive land degradation issues, Recommendations include the need for massive enlightenment campaign to be launched on the menaceoflanddegradationandontheroleofthepublicintacklingit,efforttoinitiatecommunaltreeplanting and farmers planting individual tree on their farms should be encouraged, fallowing should be encouraged ratherthanlandbeingintensivelycultivated,andthereshouldbealternativetotheuseoffuelwoodassource ofenergy. KEYWORDS: Land degradation, Soil Fertility decline, Farmers' Knowledge, Soil Erosion, Perceptions, Land ImprovementMeasures. INTRODUCTION LanddegradationisanincreasinglysevereprobleminSubSaharanAfrica.Landdegradationaffectsatleast485 millionpeopleinAfrica(Reich,etal.2001).UptotwothirdsofAfrica'sproductivelandareaisaffectedbyland degradation while close to 100% is vulnerable to it. Twothirds of Africa's cropland could effectively benon productive by 2025. Africa's totalland area covers 29.6 million km2, of which twothirds is arid or semiarid (UNEP 1994). Land is central to development in Africa since the livelihoods of about 60 per cent of the populationaredependentonagriculture(Moyo1998). The main issues related to land in Africa include increasing degradation and desertification, together with inappropriate and inequitable land tenure systems, which have played a major role in exacerbating degradation. Other widespread problems include a decline in soil fertility, soil contamination, land 20


management and conservation, gender imbalances in land tenure, and conversion of natural habitat to agriculturalorurbanuses. Thoughthereismuchresearchdocumentationonthenatureandconsequencesoflanddegradationformany areas in Nigeria, studies are lacking that examine peoples perception of the environmental and social economic consequences of land degradation problem. Yet understanding such perception is very critical not onlyknowinghowthepeoplelookattheproblem,butalsoinunderstandingthewaysinwhichthelandusers reacttoitandtomeasuresaimedatcontrollingit(Dredge,1992). Environmentalperceptionisthemeansbywhichweseektounderstandenvironmentalphenomenainorderto achievebetteruseofenvironmentalresourcesandamoreeffectiveresponsetoenvironmentalhazards.The processes by which we arrive at these decisions include direct experience of the environment (through the sensesoftaste,touch,sight,hearingandsmell)andindirectinformationfromotherpeople,science,andthe mass media. They are mediated by our own personalities, values, roles and attitudes. The study of environmentalperceptionhastoencompassallthesemeansofprocessingenvironmentalinformationandto placetheindividualspsychologicalprocessesofprediction,evaluationandexplanationinarelevantsocialand politicalframework. Inaddressingdifferentglobalenvironmentalchangeproblems,includinglanddegradationerosion,bottomup approach to both science and policy is recommended and societies are encouraged to think locally and act globally(Lal,1990). ItisthereforeimperativethatthepublicinNigeriabesufficientlyknowledgeoflanddegradationissuessothat they can appreciate and support policies aimed at addressing such issues. This is because organizations and individualsmaynotbeabletorelatesuchpoliciesinordertomodifytheirbehaviourandconsumptionpatterns changetheiractivitiesandemploydifferenttechnologies.Itisrecognizedthatdecisionmakersoperatinginan environmentbasedtheirdecisionsontheenvironmentastheyperceiveitandnotasitis.Adecisionresulting fromperceptionisnonethelessplayedoutinarealenvironment(Lal,1994). Therecognitionoftherolethatperceptionplaysinmankindsinteractionwiththeenvironmenthasresultedin perceptionstudiesindifferentfieldsoftheenvironment(AyoadeandAkintola,1980).Itiswellunderstoodthat ifinformationisavailableonhowpeopleperceiveaproblemandwhethertheycanpartakeinsolvingit,the taskofsolvingenvironmentalproblemsbecomeseasier(EswaramandKapur,1007c). Officialandlocallandusersoftenhavedifferentperceptionsaboutlanddegradationproblems.InGangaarea, thereisnopreviousresearchdocumentationavailableontheperceptioninhabitantsontheareaofthenature, causes, socioeconomic and environmental impacts of land degradation problem in the area, and how they tackleit.Knowledgeoftheseisveryimportantinplanningforsustainablelanddevelopmentofthearea.This studywasthusconductedwiththecentralobjectiveofexaminingtheseissuesinthearea. THESTUDYAREA The study area is situated in Daura local government, Katsina State at the Northern border of Nigeria with NigerRepublic.Itliesbetweenlatitudes13006and13027andbetweenlongitudes8005and8019.Thestudy area lays North West of Daura and about six kilometres from Daura. The study area is about seventysix kilometresfromKatsinatheStatecapital(seefigure1). The relief of Ganga is gentle flat with occasionally interrupting minor hilly and rocky outcrops. The area is boarded to the east and west by shallow valley. The river drain North ward into the Niger Republic. Ganga beinglocatedinthesemiaridzonehasshortperiodofrainfall,mostlynotexceedingthree(3)monthsorless sometimes.Therainfallisassociatedwithheatandoftenaccompaniedwiththunderstormandtheatmosphere isalwayswindy. 21


TheareaexperiencesinglemaximarainfallinAugust.Themaximumrainfalloftheareaisabout350mm.The concentration of rainfall is higher in July and August. The end of the rainy season is marked by harmattan, whichischaracterisedbycoldanddustywinds. ThetemperatureofGangaareaiswarmandhotthroughouttheyeareventhoughthereareslightcoolperiod between Novembers to February. The mean annual temperature is about 28c, but mean monthly range between36cinthehottestmonthsofAprilandMay. Evaporation and transpiration are very high in the area especially during the rainy season. The harmattan period is characterised by a dry NorthEasterly wind which brings along with it a thick haze composed of minuteparticlesofdustandshellfromSahara.DuringtheharmattantheNightsandearlymorningsarecold butthetemperaturegraduallyincreasedbytheafternoonandcansometimesbeashighas35c,thisismost severeinDecemberandJanuary.ThelowestminimumtemperatureisrecordedinDecemberandJanuary. METHODOLOGY Twohundredandfortyquestionnaireswereadministeredtorespondentswithinthestudyarea.Thenumbers of questionnaires administered in each of the sampling sites is as shown on table 1. Purposeful sampling technique was used to select famers that are actively involved in farming practices in the area. The farmers were surveyed between December 2008 to January 2009 which coincided with the period when land preparation and planting were actively being done. The study involved administration of a semistructured questionnairesupplementedwithoralinterviewandfieldobservations. Table1:NumberofQuestionnairesAdministered SAMPLINGSITE NUMBERADMINISTERED % Ganga 65 27.1

Godai 40 16.7 Mazoji 62 25.8 Shadambu 19 7.9 Tambu 54 22.5 Total 240 100 Source:ReconnaissanceSurvey2008 Thequestionnairecomprisedtwomainsections.Thefirstsectioncontainedrespondentspersonaltrails,while thesecondsectioncontainedquestionsonrespondentsperceptionoftheeffectsoflanddegradation,causes oflanddegradation.Italsocontainsquestionsontheirperceptionsofthesocial,environmentalandeconomic consequences of the land degradation problem, as well as the type of existing or available techniques of combatingandmanagingtheproblem,andtheireffectivenessorotherwise.Thequestionsweremainlyclosed endedso astoenable easy administration, coding and analysis. However, some openended questionswere includedinthequestionnairetoenabletherespondentsprovideinformationonaspectsofthesubjectmatter of this study that might have been anticipated and included in the questionnaire. Field assistants that understoodthelocalHausaandFulanilanguagesoftheareawereemployedtoensurethatlanguagebarrier waseliminatedinadministeringthequestionnaire. RESULTSANDDISCUSSION SocioDemographicStructureofRespondents Resultsobtainedshowsthatalltherespondentswereabovetwentyfiveyearsofage(seeTable2).Thismeant that most of most of them were mature and could therefore be expected to be in a position in which they 22


could have personal impression of their environment particularly land. In rural areas of Nigeria, most of the peopleabovetwentyyearsofageengagedinproductiveactivitiestoenablethemsustainthemselvesandmost ofthemgetmarriedandestablishfamiliesbythatage. Table2:AgeandGenderDistributionofRespondents. VARIABLES GRADING Ganga Godai Mazoji Shadambu Tambu TOTAL GENDER AGE GROUP (YEARS) MALE FEMALE 2535 3645 4655 56AND> 64 01 40 62 17 02 08 02 03 06 54 29 04 06 15 237 03 124 35 36 45

36 19 32 08 05 16 17 07 03 04 09 11 Source:Fieldwork2009

Dataonoccupationalstructureoftherespondents(Table3)indicatethatover80%ofthemwereengagedin activitiesthathadthemeansbywhichtheycouldobservedanddevelopimpressionsaboutremarkablesigns like crop yield reduction, reduction in the amount and duration of rainfall, soil fertility reduction, among others.Peopleengagedinothersectors(civilservice,teachingandtrading)werealsoconsidertobeinformed enoughtobeabletoobserveanddevelopimpressionaboutlanddegradationissues. Table3:PrimaryOccupationalDistributionoftheRespondents Occupation SAMPLINGSITES Ganga Godai Mazoji Shadambu Tambu LivestockFarming 21 12 09 01 06 ArableFarming 60 40 62 19 54 Trading 02 01 03 Teaching 02 03 02 CivilServices 01 05 LocalArtisans 01 04 02 Source:Fieldwork2009 Note:Thetotalis>240becausemorethanoneresponsefromarespondentwasincluded AWARENESSOFLANDDEGRADATIONPROBLEM Data on the extent of the respondents awareness of the problem of land degradation in the study area is presentedinTable4.Itisclearfromthetablethatalmostalloftherespondentswereawareofanyofthesigns oflanddegradation.Responsesonthelevelofawarenessoflanddegradationwithinthestudyareashowthat about sixty per cent are awareof soilfertility decline. Respondents reported gradual reduction of cropyield andanincreaseinfertilizerapplicationtoreconditionthesoilintermsofitssoilnutrientsstatus. Furthermore,aboutfortypercentindicatednoticingsoilerosionbywindactionontheirfarmlands.According tothemajorityoffarmersinterviewed,thesandwaslooseandthusmoreerodible.Soilerosioncancauseyield 23


reductionsof30to90%insomerootrestrictiveshallowlandsofWestAfrica(Mbagwuetal.,1984;Lal,1987; Alexander, 1995; Darkoh, 1995). Yield reductions of 20 to 40% have been measured for row crops in Ohio (Fahnestocketal.,1995;JohnsonandLewis,1995;andReich,2001)andelsewhereinMidwestUSA(Eswaran et al., 1997a). In the Andean region of Colombia, Eswaran et al (1997b) observed severe losses due to acceleratederosionon some lands. Dregne,(1990)observed severe losses by 50% as a result of soilerosion anddesertification.YieldreductioninAfrica(Lal,1995)duetopastsoilerosionmayrangefrom2to40%,with ameanlossof8.2%forthecontinent.Ifacceleratederosioncontinuesunabated,yieldreductionsby2020may be16.5%. Asidefarming,livestockkeepingisthesecondmostimportantagriculturalactivitywithinthestudyarea.The data on table 4 shows that about seventy per cent of respondents are of the opinion that overgrazing is contributing to degradation of their farm lands. Grazing globally is acknowledged as a major cause of land degradation (Dredge, 1992). In the area; almost all respondents noticed a decline in vegetal cover. Greater proportionoftheareasinhabitantsdependsalmostentirelyonfuelwoodasamajorsourceofenergy. Similarly, almost all respondents reported that the rainfall pattern has become more unpredictable. The amountofrainfallreceivedisbecomingsmallerandthedurationisbecomingshorter.Thishasresultedinthe frequency of drought leading to crop failures. All respondents are of the opinion that their farmlands are intensively cultivated rather than extensively cultivated. In many farmlands, fallowing is not practiced and cultivationiscontinuous.Thisexposesthebarelandtotheagentsoferosion.Thishasrenderedfarmlandsthat are already marginal more vulnerable to land degradation. The process of land degradation is therefore exacerbatedinthisclimaticallymarginalarea. Table4:AwarenessofLandDegradationTypebytheRespondents. TypeofDegradation SAMPLINGSITES Ganga Godai Mazoji Shadambu Tambu TOTAL SoilFertilityDecline 43 27 54 15 44 183 SoilErodibility Overgrazing Deforestation Declineinrainfall amountandduration OverCultivation 22 52 65 65 61 16 31 40 40 38 26 56 62 62 42 07 13 19 19 09 21 23 54 54 41 92 175 240 240 191

Source:Fieldwork2009 Note:Thetotalis>240becausemorethanoneresponsefromarespondentwasincluded DETERMINANTSOFPERCEPTIONSONLANDDEGRADATIONISSUES Many variables have been identified in literature as being responsible for influencing variations in the way farmersperceiveof landdegradationissues. Among the variables considered areeducation level of farmers, genderandageoffarmers. Table 5 revealed that level of education of farmer accounts for between 91% and 100% of explanations in variationsinfarmersperceptionsoflanddegradationissuesacrossthestudyarea.Themostimportantfactor influencingfarmerperceptionoflanddegradationissuesinthestudyareathereforeisthelevelofeducationof 24


the farmer. Education level of farmers would affect the way farmers would access and have contacts with extension agencies, contacts with research organizations, frequency of watching agricultural programs in television,frequencyoflisteningtoagriculturalprogramsonradio,attendancetoanyfarmers'day,discussion of problems with fellow farmers, frequency of reading agricultural column in newspaper, consult any agriculturalmagazine,frequencyofvisitstoanyagriculturalagencyandnumberofextensionprogramsinthe villages(Lal,1996). Furthermore, the low educational level of farmers would further exacerbate the difficulty in adoption of improved technology as a farming practice and in the management of degraded lands (FAO, 1991; Mabbut, 1992;Bergsma.1996;andCarswell,1997). Ontheotherhand,thedatacontainedinTable5indicatesclearlythatageandgenderhastheleastinfluence onfarmerperceptionoflanddegradationissueswithinthestudy. TABLE5:SUMMARYOFMULTIPLEREGRESSIONANALYSIS QUES Ganga VARIABLE ESTIMATE SE tVALUE SIG ESTIMATE SE tVALUE SIG ESTIMATE SE tVALUE SIG ESTIMATE SE tVALUE SIG ESTIMATE SE tVALUE SIG CON. AGE VALUES 0.46 0.02802 0.564 0.02 0.42 0.166 NR NS 0.003 0.839 0.027 0.058 0.9 0.944 NR 3.40% 0.0561 0.01238 0.59 0.023 0.925 0.593 NR 6.30% 0.0527 0.948 0.334 0.031 0 0 NR 0.40% 1.375 0.01062 1.861 0.067 0.465 0.875 NR NS GENDER 0.02628 0.023 0.254 12.60% 0.264 0.077 0.874 NS 0.008187 0.025 0.74 NS 0.008384 0.007 0.903 1.20% 0.3447 0.077 0.656 14.2 R DURBIN SQUARED WATSON 1.074 87% 2.275 0.026 94.10% 0 100% 0.223 95.20% 2.118 0.965 97.70% 0.113 97% 1.216 98.00% 3.042 0.036 99.10% 0 98.50% 1.075 90.30% 2.022 0 92.70% 0 98% 1.166 98% 96% 3.254 0.086 0 91.10% EDUC. R

Godai

Mazoji

Shadambu

Tambu

Source:Fieldwork2008 CONCLUSIONANDRECOMMENDATIONS Theresultsobtainedinthisstudyareinsupportofthefollowingconclusions:thatmostrespondentsareaware oflanddegradationprocessestakingplaceontheirfarmlandsandthatthelevelofeducationoffarmershas thegreatestimpactonthelevelfarmersperceptionoflanddegradationissuesandthatgenderandagehas little or an insignificant influence on the way farmers perceive land degradation issues. The following recommendations are considered appropriate here: that there is the need for massive enlightenment campaigntobelaunchedonthemenaceoflanddegradationandontheroleofthepublicintacklingit,effort 25


toinitiatecommunaltreeplantingandfarmersplantingindividualtreeontheirfarmsshouldbeencouraged, fallowingshouldbeencouragedratherthanlandbeingintensivelycultivated,andthereshouldbealternative totheuseoffuelwoodassourceofenergy.

REFERENCES Alexander,H.,(1995).AFrameworkforChange:TheStateoftheCommunityLandcareMovementinAustralia, TheNationalLandcareFacilitatorProject,AnnualReport,Canberra,Australia. Bergsma,E.,(1996).TerminologyforSoilErosionandConservation.Vienna,Austria:InternationalSocietyofSoil Science. Carswell, G. (2002). Farmers and Fallowing: Agricultural Change in Kigezi District, Uganda. Geographical Journal.168(2):130140. Darkoh, M.K. (1995). The deterioration of the environment in Africas Dry lands and river Basins. DesertificationControlBulletin.1(24):3541. Dregne, H.E. (1990). Erosion andsoilproductivity in Africa. Journal of Soiland Water Conservation. 45(1): 431436. Dregne,H.E.(1992).DegradationandRestorationofAridLands.Lubbock:TexasTechnicalUniversity. Eswaran,H.,Almaraz,R.,VanDenBerg,E.&Reich,P.F.(1997a).AnassessmentofthesoilresourcesofAfrica inrelationtoproductivity.Geoderma.77:118.Availableathttp://soils.usda.gov/[December2008]. Eswaran,H,Almaraz,R.,Reich,P.F.&Zdruli,P.F.(1997b).SoilqualityandsoilproductivityinAfrica.Journalof SustainableAgriculture.10:7594.Availableathttp://soils.usda.gov/[December2008].

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Eswaran, H. & Kapur, S. (1997). Land degradation and the quality of the environment. Land Degradation Newsletter of the International Task Force on Land Degradation, 1: 239. Available at http://soils.usda.gov/ [December2008]. Fahnestock,P.,Lal,R.&Hall,G.F.(1995).LanduseandErosionaleffectsontwoOhio Alfisols Crop yields. JournalofSustainableAgriculture.7:85100. FAO.(1991).HowgoodtheEarth?Quantifyinglandresourcesindevelopingcountries.(1991).Rome:FAO. JOHNSON,D.L.&LEWIS,L.A.(1995).LandDegradation:CreationandDestruction.Oxford:Blackwell. Lal,R.(1990).Soilerosionandlanddegradation,theglobalrisks.AdvancesinSoilScience.11:130172. Lal, R. (1994). Tillage effects on soil degradation, soil resilience, soil quality, and Sustainability. Soil Tillage Researc.,27:18. Lal, R. (1995). Erosioncrop productivity relationships for soils of Africa. Soil Science Society of America Journal.59:661667. Lal, R. (1996). Axle load and tillage effects on soil degradation and rehabilitation in Western Nigeria, Soil physicalandhydrologicalproperties.LandDegradationReview.7:1945. Mabbutt, J.A. (1992). Degradation of the Australian drylands: a historical approach. In: Degradation and RestorationofAridLands,ed.H.E.Dregne,2798.Lubbock:TexasTechnicalUniversity. Mbagwu,J.S.,Lal,R.&Scott,T.W.,(1984),EffectsofDesurfacingofAlfisolsandUltisolsinSouthernNigeria, Cropperformance.SoilScienceSocietyofAmericaJourna.48:828833. Moyo, S. (1998). Land Entitlements and Growing Poverty in Southern Africa. Southern Africa Political and EconomicMonthly:SouthernReview.Harare,SAPESTrust Reich,P.F.Numbem,S.T.,Almaraz,R.A.andEswaran,H.(2001).Landresourcestressesanddesertificationin Africa.InBridges,E.M.,Hannam,I.D.,Oldeman,L.R.,Pening,F.W.T.,deVries,S.J.,Scherr,S.J.andSompatpanit, S.(eds).ResponsestoLandDegradation.Proceedingsofthe2ndInternationalConferenceonLandDegradation andDesertification,KhonKaen,Thailand.NewDelhi,OxfordUniversityPress UNEP.(1994).LandDegradationinSouthAsia:ItsSeverity,CausesandEffectsuponthePeople(1994).Rome: FAO. 27


ICIWG10 TOWARDSANISLAMICPERSPECTIVEOFEDUCATIONINMUSLIMCOMMUNITIESOF NORTHERNNIGERIAAliyuBabaNabegu DepartmentofGeography, KanoUniversityofScienceandTechnology,Wudil,Kano KanoState,Nigeria Email:[email protected]

ABSTRACT Colonialism, secularization and the current globalization have reduced Islamic education to mere religious teachings.ThispaperarguesforaneducationderivedfromanexclusivelyIslamicperspectiveinGeographical as well as other disciplines. The paper highlights attempts at infusing Islamic perspectives in education in NorthernNigeriaandprovidesreasonsforthefailureofMuslimsintheirvariousattemptstoincorporateIslam in Geographical as well as other studies in Northern Nigeria. Among the important reasons for the failure highlightedinclude;attitudesoftheMuslims;thenatureandtypesofschoolsandinstitutionsestablishedto carryoutIslamiceducationandtheincessantdesireofMuslimtoprovethedivineoriginoftheQuranthrough modern science. The paper argues that in order to move forward there is the need to, develop a clear understandingofmetaphysicaltruthsoftheQuranandbaseIslamiceducationinthiscontext;revertbackto thetraditionsofIslamandclarifyanddevelopanarticulateIslamicviewpointthroughclearlydefinedmethods. The paper concludes that current debate in the Islamic world with issues such as Islamization of knowledge does not make any headway and it only demonstrate paucity of thought about education. The paper recommendsachangeofattitudeandpracticeintheMuslimworldthatencouragesfreeinquiryratherthan free imitation and the need for an Islamic model society free of dogma that will allow positive interface betweenknowledgeandreligionandgreaterharmony. KEYWORDS: Science, Secular system, Geographic phenomena, Western epistemology, Western Education, NorthernNigeria

INTRODUCTIONForcenturiesscholarshaverealizedthatIslamhascontributedsubstantiallytoworldcivilizationandculture.It wasIslamandMuslimsthatrevivedthehumanpursuitofscienceanditwasthroughArabsnotRomansthat themodernworldachievedlightandpowerthroughscience().IntheninthandtenthcenturiestheMuslims compiledgreatlexiconsanddevelopedphilosophicallearninginIslam. Atleastacenturybeforethewestern worldthoughtofestablishinghighercentersoflearning,theMuslimsworldhadestablishedsuchinstitutionsin Basra,Kufa, Baghdad,CairoandCordova.It wasthisIslamiceducationwhichgavecultural prestige toIslam. Trimingham (1959) observed that through the system of intellectual and material culture, Islam opens new horizonsandfromthisstemsthesuperiorityMuslimsdisplaywhenconfrontedwithpagans.Thusdesirefor knowledgeandprideinacquisitionoflettershasbeenanimportantfactorinthepast,buttoday,thisdesireis mainlydirectedintootherchannels.(Boyd,1961) IslamandIslamicculturereachedWestAfricaintheeightcenturyA.D.,(Fafunwa,1974).Tradeandcommerce paved the way for the introduction of new elements of material culture and made possible the intellectual development which naturally followed the introduction of literacy and for which parts of Northern Nigeria 28


were to become famous later. The revivalist movement of Shehu Usman Danfodio who fought in order to reformtheIslamofNorthernNigeriainthe1880swastheheightofIslamicprominenceintheregion. ThecolonialencounterinthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturiesbroughtarevolutionarychangeinNorthern Nigeria.ColonialismbroughtatotaleclipseofMuslimmilitary,politicalandintellectuallifeinNorthernNigeria and elsewhere. Theresult was that for the first time Muslims felt a need to defend their religion against an 'other'thatclaimedworldlysuperiorityoverthem. When formal education wasintroducedtoNigeria by the colonialist,the first schools were organizedbythe Christianmissionariesandtheirmainobjectivewastousetheschoolasameansofevangelism.Educationwas freebutwithstringsattached.AgoodcitizeninNigeriaandelsewherebetween1850and1960meantone who was African by blo

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