No abstract

Developing nations will be worst hit by the impacts of climate change because limited resources hinder the spatial reach of climate studies, effort, and subsequent implementation to help with the improvement of livelihoods. Therefore, finding the best-case study is an essential undertaking in environmental assessments. This study explains one systematic approach to selecting a study site for an environmental assessment project. A desktop review of relevant literature, a simple factor scoring assessment process, reliance on expert opinion, and a field survey for ground-truthing were conducted. The desktop review showed the most critical factors to site selection. The scoring of these factors selected those that were crucial for the study. Experts validated the results and suggested the best study site among the ones identified. While the design is simplified, the proposed approach selects the most appropriate study site for environmental assessments.

Advancement in remote sensing platforms, sensors, and technology has significantly improved the assessment of hard-to-access areas, such as mountains. Despite these improvements, Africa lags in terms of research work published. This is of great concern as the continent needs more research to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, this study applied a bibliometric analysis of the annual production of publications on the application of remote sensing methods in mountainous environments. In total, 3849 original articles between 1973 and 2021 were used, and the results indicate a steady growth in publications from 2004 (n = 26) to 2021 (n = 504). Considering the source journals, Remote Sensing was the top-ranked, with 453 total publications. The University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was the highest-ranking affiliation, with 217 articles, and China produced the highest number of publications (n = 217). Keywords used between 1973 and 1997, such as “Canada”, “alps”, and “GIS”, metamorphosed into “remote sensing” between 1998 and 2021. This metamorphosis indicates a change in the areas of interest and an increase in the application of remote sensing methods. Most studies were conducted in the Global North countries, and a few were published in low-impact journals within the African continent. This study can help researchers and scholars better understand the progress and intellectual structure of the field and future research directions in the application of remote sensing methods in mountainous environments.

Sustaining a steady supply of water to urban communities is of importance in a period that is characterised by rapid urban population growth, a global pandemic, and a changing climate that threatens the availability of the resource from its sources. Water supply to the City of Mutare is from three sources, Small Bridge Dam, Odzani, and the Pungwe River. The Pungwe source provides better quality water resources equivalent to the combined quantity supplied by the other two. It becomes an important source for the city, but climate change threatens the availability of water resources in the southern African region. Thus, it is imperative to quantitatively assess the impacts of a changing climate on water resources to enable the development of sustainable management alternatives. Using two carbon emission scenarios Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5, the study assesses the future availability of water resources from the Pungwe River to the City of Mutare using the Pitman hydrological model applied in an uncertainty framework. Available historical streamflow observations at gauging station F14 indicate a Q95 flow of about 2 Mm3/year. Projected future water resources at the end of the 21st century show a slight increase of up to 2.38% under the low carbon emission scenario (RCP4.5) and a decrease of up to 9.73%under the high carbon emission scenario (RCP8.5). These model‐generated results are useful to water managers to plan for catchment management strategies that would ensure continuous urban water supply, and the identification and development of possible future alternative water sources.

Hydrological studies pivot on the proper understanding of the drainage system that is under investigation. It is imperative to delineate the catchment and better visualise the area, especially in headwater catchment assessments. Advances in technology have improved how catchments are delineated and visualised. This has become integral to understanding how the river system is distributed and the basis for hydrological studies. Against this background, this research delineated the Luvuvhu Headwater Catchment (LHC) using high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Global DEMs with a cell size of 30m resolution were used. Four DEMs covering the study area were mosaicked before analysis and processed to 10m x 10m resolution. The research results were compared against the conventionally used maps in similar studies. The delineated map showed a highly defined stream network that was more detailed than the previously used maps. The use of high-resolution DEMs thus produced a detailed stream distribution of the LHC. Coupling catchment delineation with ground-truthing will enhance the understanding and sustainable management of headwater catchments.