ABSTRACT Studies from the Global South on resettlement have focused on compensatory issues, with a little emphasis on socio-cultural, economic, and environmental impacts. The present study therefore focused on exploring the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of the Bui-Dam project in five resettled communities in Ghana. We used mixed methods to analyse household and qualitative in-depth interviews with institutions. We found that while resettlement projects offer positive benefits, they also yield negative impacts on the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental aspects of the resettled population. It is therefore important that policymakers carefully review and systematically integrate these concerns into resettlement plans.

ABSTRACT This study examined the health and safety issues affecting artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Penhalonga, Ward 21, Mutasa District. A combination of questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and direct field observations were employed. Findings from the research revealed that artisanal miners suffered mainly from diseases such as malaria and sexually transmitted infections. Superstitions and myths were among the causes of accidents. Several measures adopted to address health and safety issues, include awareness campaigns, hazard identification and risk assessment. The research recommends that mining claim owners should increase education and awareness on the use of personal protective equipment.

ABSTRACT This reviewe of Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) studies in Uganda indicates agriculture, forest, grassland, and woodland as the major land use and land cover types. Central Uganda is the most studied region (15%), followed by western (14), eastern (10), and northern Uganda (3). District scale studies were (48%), catchment (19%), forest (17%), national (10%), and park (7%). Landsat 30 m and remote sensing was most used (93%) . Population is the leadingdrivers of LULCC. The impacts of LULCC are site specific and includes reduction of: tree cover and species composition; water quality and quantity; and soil quality.

ABSTRACT The past decade’s petroleum industry-related urban expansion has fueled a growing demand for land with increasing conflicts in Sekondi-Takoradi. With an emphasis on land conflict resolution processes, it is argued that whether conflicts are resolved by traditional authorities or the court, actors with advantageous combinations of economic resources, power, or state support, are likely to win. Characterized by legal pluralism, rapid urbanization and intensifying land pressure, land conflicts remain unresolved. Formal institutional mechanisms must be reformed and improved to safeguard the land interests of vulnerable social groups who often lose out in informal land access negotiations processes.

ABSTRACT Climate change poses significant challenges to the tourism sector, with snow-based tourism particularly threatened. Snow-based tourism is largely dependent on adaptation, including snowmaking practices and product diversification. In the global south, the limited snow-based tourism products face similar challenges to the global north, but with significantly higher vulnerability and lower adaptive capacity. By making use of a questionnaire survey and personal in-depth interviews this paper examines adaptation mechanisms and the perceptions held by tourists and managers at Afriski, Lesotho. While Afriski already implements adaptive mechanisms, considering the current global environmental change projections for southern Africa, greater adaptive action is necessary.

ABSTRACT The paper uses data from the American Community Survey to explore the impact of pre-departure characteristics and class of entry on the integration of Nigerian- and Somali-born immigrants into US society. It argues for scholars to reconsider the treatment of African immigrants as a collective group as this obscures differences between immigrants from different African countries and the ways they adjust to life in the US. Understanding the ways in which disadvantaged immigrant groups navigate their day-to-day lives and the social structures which they draw upon for support is flagged as a possible area of future research inquiry.

ABSTRACT Debates about the benefits and costs of hydro-electric dams have provoked this study, which examines how the Bui Dam in Ghana impacts on 13 nearby communities. Impacts were assessed using the capital assets framework, embracing seven types of capital assets: social, natural, human, physical, financial, cultural, and political. Data was collected through a quantitative questionnaire administered to 339 households, and qualitative interviews with 22 key informants. Findings indicated that dam impacts on each capital asset were generally negative, but varied somewhat. Relocation and type of livelihood were important explanatory factors, while age, ethnicity, education and gender were lesser factors.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the history and political economy of farmer-herder conflicts using field surveys to advance the theoretical understanding of the linkages between agro-pastoralism and farmer-herder conflicts in Northwest Cameroon (NWC). Although the political ecological factors of environmental change and irrational land use policies seem to be the main drivers of farmer-herder conflicts, economic interests of the colonial and postcolonial administrations of Cameroon greatly contributed to the rise and persistence of farmer-herder conflicts in NWC. Using expert and indigenous agro-ecological knowledge, this study identified alternative farmer-herder conflict management strategies, providing a platform for sustainable agro-pastoral development.

ABSTRACT Inadequate water supply is one of the greatest current and growing global challenges particularly in rural communities of the developing world. Part of the challenge has been the ineffective water legislation and policies contributing to poor water management and governance. This study investigates policy and institutional responses of community-based water supply management in Cameroon. Using secondary data and empirical evidence collected through participatory research, it was found that the management of rural water systems in Northwest Cameroon is challenged by uncoordinated policies and failed institutions. The study also revealed that there is continuous top-down management of natural resources despite the guise of decentralization of management responsibilities to rural communities and institutions. The paper argues that the efficacy of rural water supply will always be compromised unless rural communities and community-based organizations are involved and engaged indecision-making processes and project implementation that affect them, or in which they have an interest

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to the debate on urban agriculture as a source of social capital amongst local communities in African cities through a case-study of Mitchells Plain, a low-income neighborhood in the Cape Flats region of Cape Town, South Africa. A mixed-methods approach, combining a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with urban gardeners, as well as interviews with officials was undertaken. The findings show that urban agriculture increases social interaction among urban gardeners and the community. They also show that non-governmental organizations and government actors are crucial in enhancing social interaction within the community. Therefore, these findings have implications for development practitioners who continue supporting and encouraging the uptake of urban agriculture by residents of Mitchells Plain.