Building Nsanje Port on Shire Zambezi Waterway

Building Nsanje Port on Shire Zambezi Waterway Project Description Malawi is a landlocked country that relies on Mozambican ports on the Indian Ocean for transportation of imported and exported goods. The project will open new doors for Malawi and reduce transport costs. Currently Malawi uses Beira and Nacala port in Mozambique from which transporters cover a return distance of about 1700km from Blantyre. Using Nsanje port, transporters now will cover a distance of 238 km for a return journey to Blantyre as opposed to Beira port. Reduction in transport costs may lead to reduction of other goods such as agricultural inputs. This will be a benefit to the Malawians who depend on agriculture for their economy and it will also improve food security in the country. The project will also provide Malawi with a multimodal transport linkage to other land locked countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia; the people of Nsanje district will be empowered socially and economically due to new infrastructure and markets that will be established to support the services of the port; the visual scenery of Nsanje district will improve with the building of the port; creation of temporary and permanent jobs; time saving and reduction on wear and tear of vehicles due to reduced travel distance. Though the project will have positive effects but will also have negative impacts such as loss of fishing area and income for fishermen who used to fish along the shire river; air and water pollution due to construction work that will take place on the site; the project will affect the water species found along this area of the Shire river; empowerment of people socially and economically may increase the spreading of HIV and AIDS as this districts already has high percentage of HIV patients due to cultural beliefs; urbanization due to viable environment for small scale and large scale businesses; natural visual scenery will be affected by new built structures, risk to flooding along the Shire river; conflicts with hosting communities and negative influences on religion and local culture. Location The project will be located at Nsanje District in Malawi. Malawi is located between latitudes of 09ËÅ ¡ and 17ËÅ ¡ south and longitudes of 33ËÅ ¡ and 37ËÅ ¡ east. Malawi is bordered by Zambia in the East, Tanzania in the North and Mozambique in the South and West. Nsanje District Assembly is found at the tip of Southern Malawi where Malawi shares borders with Mozambique. It is at this place that the shire river passes along the boundary between Malawi and Mozambique flowing into Zambezi river and then to Indian Ocean through Chinned Port. The site was selected because of the wider width of the river as it connects to Zambezi River offering a better place for the port. Location map is shown in relation to the Shire River and location for the proposed port. Malawi Map showing location of Nsanje, Imagery showing location of the port, Shire River and Nacala corridor from Mozambique. MALAWIS EIA LEGISLATURE In Malawi the Environmental Act enacted in 1996, provides the legal framework for the protection and management of the environment, the conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources. EIA processes are outlined on section 24 of the Act to which all private and public developers must adhere to. The Act has outlined projects for which EIA is mandatory before implementation of the project as gazetted in section 24. The section also stipulates all activities that must be carried out by the developer before any implementation. The developer has to submit a project brief to the Environmental Affairs Department (EAD) who administers the environmental Act. The Director assesses the project and is supported by expertise from the technical committee of environmental affairs (TEC) which participate in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements; project briefs reviews; Terms of Reference (ToRs) and EIA reports; develop and monitor project auditing programme and recomme nded course of action to the Director though the director is not bound by the TEC report. The act also stipulates that only the EAD is mandated to issue out certificate under section 26(3) for which an EAI is required. For thorough evaluation of project activities that might have significant impact on the environment by the port developer, the EIA is supported by various Malawi government Acts and policies as indicated in table 1 and other international legislatures as attached on appendix I. Malawi legal documents 4.2 EIA Process The EAI process is carried out in phases in a project cycle in which EIA requirements are integrated within the cycle (EMA, 1996). The project cycle is carried out in phases and begins with a concept then pre-feasibility and feasibility studies before a detailed design and implementation phase. The objective of the cycle it to provide detailed and up-to-date environmental information at key stages in the cycle. This helps the developer to identify early results from an EIA and able to take action on any significant changes and adopt them during project implementation. The project cycle also provides opportunity to the developer, consultant, relevant authorities, interested parties and the general public to assess the impacts of the project on the environment and provide alternatives on adverse effects. The project cycle focuses on identification of negative impacts, reasonable alternatives and assessing the relevant issues so as to ensure that the EIA becomes a useful to decision mak ers. All the activities in the project cycle are done through screening and scoping. 4.1 Screening Screening allows a project to be assessed whether an EIA is required or not and establishes the basis for scoping (Theodorsdouttir, 1999). In Malawi, screening is done through a project brief which is a document that highlights critical issues prepared by the developer and in this case the Malawi Government and is submitted to the Director of Environmental Affairs Department and who is supported by TEC to assess whether it requires EIA or not. Building of an inland port is among the projects that EIA is mandatory in Malawi therefore an EIA is to be carried out (EMA, 1996). 4.2 Scoping Scooping ensures that all relevant issues to be addressed in an EIA are established and makes sure that all relevant authorities, interested and affected parties are involved, alternatives to the project are identified and to make sure that the resources are conserved and used wisely. In Malawi, comprehensive identification of the significant impacts are based on the Terms of Reference (ToRs) which are prepared by the developer and approved by the director (EMA, 1996). ToRs are identified in the scooping process. The figure I below outlines all the EIA process in Malawi. 4.3 ASSESSMENT METHOD There are various methods of assessing environmental project impacts such as checklist, network diagrams, graphical comparisons overlays and matrices (FAO, 1995) In this assessment matrices as shown in figure 2 have been used to come up with the most significant impacts as matrices easily identify impacts in a summary form and provides better bases for evaluating most significant ones Leopold et al. (1971). 4.4 Environmental Plan Impacts identified in the matrices are further assessed by Stakeholders, EAD, TEC, general public and the developer to evaluate the impacts and also identify mitigation measures. In the environmental plan potential project impacts are identified in regard to project phases as indicated in Appendix II The most significant impact Water Pollution The most significant environmental impact on this project is water pollution. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies through pollutants which are discharged directly into water bodies without adequate measures to remove harmful compounds. Water pollution may take place due to effluents derived from soil erosion, accidental spills, waste oil, fertilizers and detergents, heavy metal and pesticides, heat and micro-organisms (JICA/GOK, 1992). 5.1 Significant Impacts Drinking Water: Water is considered safe if it can be used by human beings and other living creatures without any effect (UNEP, 1999). Polluted water is not safe for drinking for the communities living along the river and can easily wipe away a large population of human beings and animals as the birds shown in figure3. Odour: Sediments in the water under the structures may cause water stagnation and after sometime the water may produce odours that may be nuisance to the people working around the area Impact on irrigation: Water polluted with chemicals and oil spills may affect irrigated crops. Recreation: Polluted water will not be good for swimming or recreation as it may affect the people in contact with polluted water. To reduce water pollution, there is need to provide mitigation and monitoring measures as shown in table III below. Significant impact Project Activity Possible Mitigation measures Prediction and Monitoring measures Water pollution Landfills and site development Careful site selection and layout design is important to reduce stagnation. Dredging should be carried out to remove any deposits and sediments in the water Enhance the water law Act to punish offenders who deliberately pollute water Construction of break waters, bays and terminals Make a fence around the construction area Quarterly meetings during the construction phase should be held to monitor the negative environmental impacts. TEC and EAD to monitor the activities Dredging and disposal of dredged materials Proper disposal of dredged material plays an important role in preserving the environment.   Monitor sediment deposits and use Secchi disk to check depth and visibility (United Nations, 1992). Waste Management Encourage recycling and devise proper means of disposing both solid and liquid waste District Assembly to monitor all dumping sites and advise residents accordingly. Transportation of construction materials Proper handling of raw materials is required i.e. Cover cement and sprinkle water frequently on dusty roads Monitor handling of the raw materials. Vessel traffic operations Appropriate regulations should be put in place to cater for ship discharge, emissions and oil from cargo, ship spills and disposal of waste Use of Microwave remote sensing satellites and receivers aboard ship vessels to monitor ship movements, oil spills and grease and ship leakage in the river (Woodhouse, 2006). Use predictions models to monitor water quality such as Artificial Intelligence models, Artificial Neural Network models and Mathematical assimilations (Najah et al., 2009) Cargo handling and storage Special equipment should be provided for handling cargo and transportation of goods and   Provision should be made for periodical clean-up of floats and wastes   Developer to monitor that cargo handling equipment is regularly serviced Waterfront and cargo operations Provide regulations on effluent from waterfront industries and monitoring of water quality TEC to monitor all activities probably by employing a full time environmental specialist. Transportation of goods All roads leading to the port must have bitumen to avoid dust which may pollute the water.   Stakeholders to monitor where they there expertise is required. 5.2 Acts that govern the legislature for water are; Environmental Management Act 1996 which stipulates the conservation and sustainability of utilization of natural resources and water is one of the natural resources. Water Resources Act 1969 The act governs the control conservation, apportionment and use of water resources in Malawi. Water Works Act The act makes an offence if any person willfully and negligently causes water pollution. 5.3 Baseline data Baseline data is the collection of relevant information proposed in the project with the purpose of determining the status and trends of environmental factors (e.g., water pollutant concentrations). This offers opportunities to predict changes in terms of importance and provide for means of detecting actual changes once the project is initiated. Baseline data plays an important role in EIA assessment and monitoring of environmental effects (Wathern, 1988). Alpha (1995) recommends the following data to be collected for checking water pollution: Dissolved Oxygen Water conductivity Water salinity Turbidity Temperature PH Use of questionnaire to get more information from the communities around the district Assembly on the activities that take place along the river Measurements on sediments. Maps showing river catchments area 5.3.1 Parameters for checking water quality UNEP prescribes measurement of various parameters for assessing, water quality and these include:- Temperature recommended is between 25 and 35 Suspended solids it is recommended is 30mg/l Biochemical oxygen Demand (5-day at 20 C) Clean water is between 4mg/l to 10 and more than 10 is considered polluted Heavy metal concentration should not exceed 0.1mg/l in combination Lead (PB) less than 0.1mg/l Mercury (Hg) less than 0.005 mg/l Silver (Ag) , Zinc(Zn), Chromium (Cr), Arsenic (As) less than 0.05 mg/l Nickel (nI) less than 0.3 mg/l Copper (Cu), Cyanides (CN), Hydrogen Sulphide (S) less than 1.0mg/l Free Ammonia (NH 3 ) less than 0.2mg/l Phenolic Compounds (Phenol) 0.001 mg/l Nitrates (N) 10mg/l Phosphates Floating materials oils foam and greases. Bhardwaj, 2005, suggest water quality criteria as shown in the table below: 5.4 GAPS Measurement of water quality can only be undertaken by people with special expertise and with special equipment which cannot be used by a local person and the water measuring instruments are not up-to-date and not enough to cover all water bodies in the country (UNEP, 1999). Conclusion This project has a significant impact on water which is critical to water species and human beings therefore mitigation measures have to be followed to reduce water pollution in the Shire river which its impacts may have an effect over a long distance and all the way to the Indian ocean and affect so many people and all water habitats.

Networking :: essays research papers

The main purpose of this project was to change the network architecture in such a way as to allow lab computers easier network access without being bound by lengthy network wiring. The lab computers are often moved around from project to project and easy network access was becoming a problem. After a detailed analysis of the current setup, it was determined that installing a wireless network in addition to the existing landline network would provide the best solution. The following describes the final configuration (see diagram on page 4). Internet access is provided by a DSL modem connected to a router. The router in turn has two connections into it. One is a wireless Ethernet access point, which provides access to the network for all wireless computers, mainly from the lab. Two is an Ethernet switch which interfaces the remaining landline Ethernet computers. A print server is connected to the switch to allow network printing access. Configuration of the router is accomplished via a web browser and logging into a specific local I.P. address on the router. The built in EPROM has software running on it which allows easy configuration of the functions. These functions include configuring the DHCP server, security settings, firewalls, access restrictions, etc. Configuration the wireless access point is also done via a similar interface; a USB cable us used to connect to the access point firmware and configure the SSID on the network as well as the WEP key for secure wireless communications. The operating systems present on the various computers include Microsoft Windows 98, NT, 2000 and XP Professional. These provide a friendly user interface to the operators and, because they are from the same vendor, they interoperate efficiently. Because of their age, Windows 98 and NT are in the process of being phased out in favor of Windows XP Professional. Typical data flow when transferring a file from the lab to a desktop computer for analysis would involve the data from the lab being sent wirelessly to the access point. From the access point, the data is transferred to the router, which in turn forwards the file to the appropriate computer on the network. If the destination computer is physically wired to the network, the data must pass through a multi-port switch before it reaches the destination computer. Each computer on the network has a unique I.P. address assigned to it by the router and this is how it is identified.

Egyptian Art: Sakhmet

The archaeologist came to this conclusion based on hieroglyph samples at Gaza, which showed clear and deep cuts in diorite and granite. Sesames is an Egyptian, African sun goddess whose name meaner â€Å"The Powerful One†. Sesames reigned over Egypt from 1390- 1352 B. C. E. It's said she was known to have always been draped in red garments hence another one of her many nicknames was â€Å"Red Lady'. The symbolism of her red garments, were from the blood of her conquered enemies. Her name is derived from the Egyptian word â€Å"Seem† (which meaner â€Å"power† or â€Å"might†) and is often translated as the â€Å"Powerful One†.She is depicted as a lion-headed woman, sometimes with the addition of a sun disc on her head. Her seated statues show her holding the ankh of life, but when she is shown striding or standing she usually holds a scepter formed from papyrus (the symbol of northern or Lower Egypt) suggesting that she was associated primarily wit h the north. However, some scholars argue that the deity was introduced from Sudan (south of Egypt) where lions are more plentiful. It was said that her breath formed the desert. She was seen as the protector of the harass and led them in warfare.Sesames was associated with the goddesses given the title â€Å"Eye of Re† she wore a sun-disk and cobra on her brow, identifying her as the daughter of the sun god Re. According to myth, Ra became angry because mankind was not following his laws and preserving Matt Justice or balance). He decided to punish mankind by sending an aspect of his daughter, the â€Å"Eye of Ra†. He plucked Hath from Areas on his brow, and sent her to earth in the form of a lion. She became Scheme, the â€Å"Eye of Re† and began her rampage. The fields ran with human load. However, Re was not a cruel deity, and the sight of the carnage caused him to repent.He ordered her to stop, but she was in a blood lust and would not listen. So Re poured 7,000 Jugs of beer and pomegranate Juice (which stained the beer blood red) in her path. She gorged on the â€Å"blood† and became so drunk she slept for three days. When she awoke, her blood lust had dissipated, and humanity was saved. In another version of the myth, Path is the first thing she sees on awaking and she instantly fell in love with him. Their union (creation and destruction) created Unfetter (healing) and so re-established Matt. The saving of mankind was commemorated every year on the feast day of Hath/Scheme.Everyone drank beer stained with pomegranate Juice and worshipped â€Å"the Mistress and lady of the tomb, gracious one, destroyer of rebellion, mighty one of enchantments†. A statue of Scheme was dressed in red facing west, while Bass was dressed in green and faced east. Bass was sometimes considered to be Sesames ‘s counterpart (or twin depending on the legend), and in the festival of Hath they embodied the duality central to Egyptian mythol ogy. Scheme represented Upper Egypt while Bass represented Lower Egypt. In her role as the eye of Re, Sesames was dispatched abroad to destroy Egypt enemies.Sesames became angered when she discovered Re set another goddess in her place while she was away. The Eye refused to return and protect Egypt, until pacified by wine, music, and dance. The Egyptians explained the sun's annual motion toward the south and then back to Egypt as the Eye's departure and return. In other myth's, Re's Eye symbolized natural phenomena, such as the Niles flood and the Egyptian new year. Although Kismet's true form was believed to be hidden, this bust's lioness face refers to her power and fierce nature, which could either defend or destroy.The goddess's benevolence and protection were deemed particularly necessary at times of transition, such as the new day or year. Amputated Ill commissioned two or more Sesames statues for each day in the year, compelling the goddess's favor and protection. Many statue s of Sesames were found in the precinct of Mute Kara. Since Kismet's actions were primarily destructive while Mute represented protection, the two goddesses were sometimes insider as the positive and negative aspects of one deity.In conclusion, my trip to the Brooklyn Museum of art was not my first, nor will it be my last, but it was the most entertaining and informative trip. Next time I go I will definitely bring some friends along so they can enjoy the rich Egyptian culture as much as I did. This is a statue of Sesames. Medium: Grandiosity Place Found: Thebes, Egypt Dates: ca. 1390-1352 B. C. E. Dynasty: XVIII Dynasty Period: New Kingdom Dimensions: 39 x 19 7/8 x 15 9/16 TN. (99 x 50. 5 x 39. 5 CM)

Predisposition Factors of Alcohol and Substance Addiction among African Americans and Europeans Free Essay Example, 2750 words

Research on Caucasian population revealed that in adolescents of both sexes there were more parental than personal antecedents of the age of onset of marijuana use. This, particularly in girls, showed that early onset was more often related to parental addiction and late onset had influences of parental firmness, responsiveness, self-awareness, demandingness, intellectual stimulation, and household help. In the case of boys, it was related to parents conventionality, family intactness, and parental watch at home during their early childhood. In any case, emotional attachment played a vital role in keeping children away from substance abuse. In cases of alcoholism, a similar trend was observed in these extensive researches, these trends related to constant parent observation, responsiveness, social position, and parental guidance through individuation and building self-confidence. Instances of tobacco abuse showed a slightly different pattern depicting an early onset of smoking in gi rls due to the influence of peers or friends from non-responsive and disruptive families. The onset of more than one kind of substance abuse was very often related to being introduced to drugs by adults, almost all cases of close family members. We will write a custom essay sample on Predisposition Factors of Alcohol and Substance Addiction among African Americans and Europeans or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Substance abuse habit has shown maladaptive pattern leading to destruction and/or suffering to the individual in the form of tolerance, increasing need of the substance to achieve the desired effect, and eventually lessened the effect of continuous use of the drug leading to further increase in quantity of the substance. All these symptoms relate to their compulsion and obsession to the drugs, which makes the individual go to any length of activities to procure the desired drugs. Activities such as crime, robbery, or any other illegal activities are committed in order to acquire money or simply the drug itself in bargain for their illegal service. Most of the criminals convicted and associated with substance abuse come from the African-American population according to statistics.