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Browsing Natural Sciences by Author "Muchanga, Manoah"
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- ItemBathymetry of Makoye reservoir and its implications on water security for livestock within the catchment(Conscientia Beam, 2019-09-01) MUCHANGA, MANOAH; SICHINGABULA, HENRY M.; OBANDO, JOY; CHOMBA, INNOCENT; SIKAZWE, HAPPY; CHISOLA, MOSES; Muchanga, ManoahThe objectives of the study were to: determine bathymetry of the reservoir; understand seasonal hydrological regimes of the reservoir; determine factors influencing reservoir bathymetry and, examine the implications of the reservoir's bathymetry on livestock water demand and policy decision making. The determined reservoir bathymetries and capacities at low, medium and full levels confirmed drastic changes in water volumes and eventually, a threat to water security for livestock. This unsteady equilibrium in reservoir's bathymetry and water volumes was mainly due to high mean annual siltation rates (>5,000 tyr-1). Using 3D spatial analysts tools in ArcGIS 10.3 and spreadsheet Microsoft Excel to analyze the data based on the study, hypsometric curves showed strong non-linear relationships among water depth and water surface; water depths and water volume, as well as water surface area and water volume. Generally, through inter-seasonal comparisons of reservoir's bathymetries and water volumes between 2015 and 2017, this study illustrates the significance of bathymetric study of small reservoirs as a plinth to provide policy context and guidelines on water resource management for livestock, as a missing component in general studies of bathymetry, which are usually predominated by understanding the physical processes, but with little or no emphasis on their meaning towards addressing societal needs. Hence, a community engaged strategy to addressing upstream sediment-generating activities would help in stabilizing the bathymetry of the reservoir and eventually enhance water security for livestock. Contribution/Originality: This study is one of very few studies which have investigated implications of bathymetric surveying on sustainable water resource management for livestock. The study documents how bathymetric surveying can be used to understand seasonal hydrological regimes and storage capacity loss of small reservoirs so as to prepare for water security.
- ItemLearning for climate change adptation among selected communities of Lusaka Province in Zambia(AJOL, 2017-09-03) Muchanga, ManoahThis research was aimed at surveying perceptions of climate change and educational themes that would be contextually relevant for climate change adaptation. It locates within the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) Balaclava recommendations on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development (2013). Uncertainty as to how residents of selected households understood the causes and effects of climate change as well as the content structure of learning for climate change adaptation constituted the problem. Using social constructivism, hermeneutics, survey design, semi- structured interviews and constant comparative analysis, the article shows that the challenges of climate change are comprehended in diverse ways. It also shows that drawing knowledge from diverse sources or cross-disciplines can evoke behavioural and social change that is critical in order to nurture best thinking and practices regarding adaptation.
- ItemReflexive debate on use of philosophy in scienctific research(ARC, 2020-06-01) Muchanga, ManoahHow should philosophy be used in scientific research? is the question addressed in this paper. The aim of this desktop research was to critically contribute to the already ongoing debate around the use of philosophy in scientific research and to propose a user friendly framework on how to integrate philosophical decisions with methodological decisions. This paper argues that the content and length of a research does not make it scientific, but its philosophical foundation and related methodologies. It also shows that use of philosophy in research is not merely a recitation, repetition and dumping of borrowed words, but a reasoned and careful re-contextualization of philosophical assumptions to apply them to one’s own research thesis. There is also no such a thing as epistemological and ontological monovalence because there are many ways of creating and understanding reality and, moreover, which paradigmatic framework is ‘better’ partly depends on the research question(s) one seeks to answer. Only if we understood each philosophy and its assumptions, would we be in a better position to challenge them and, reflexively think differently.
- ItemUnderstanding sediment process in the Magoye reservoir of Southrn Province Zambia(ARIPD, 2017-06-01) Muchanga, ManoahReservoir sedimentation is one of the problems facing managers of small reservoirs (with ≤5m height of embankment). The main methods used to understand sedimentation process in the Makoye reservoir included sediment coring, onsite measurements using Sedimeter SM3A, use of Elevation Change Method (EMC), laboratory analysis of sediment core, 3D Spatial Analyst Tools (3DSATs) in ArcGIS 10.3 as well as mathematical models. The reservoir had been silting at a significant rate of 3,112.97 m3 yr-1 leading to average accumulation of 87,163 m3 of sediment, which had eventually reduced the reservoir's storage capacity by 53.5%. The EMC methods also revealed that Makoye reservoir tapped 79,749.38 m3 of sediment giving rise to the between method average sediment volume of 83,456.26 m3. Reservoir's useful life was found to be 24 years. Results from Sedimeter SM3A showed that a total depth of 0.688cm of sediment had accumulated during a period of 309 hours in the 2015/2016 rainy season as compared to 1.56 cm in the 2016/2017 rainy season. The long term average depth of sediment was found to be 2.4 cm. It was concluded that sedimentation in the Makoye Reservoir is a serious problem which may lead to complete loss of reservoir storage capacity.