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A Horizon Scan of Research Achievements, Opportunities and Emerging Issues...
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A Horizon Scan of Research Achievements, Opportunities and Emerging Issues in Environmental, Agricultural and Urban Systems in Developing Nations

A special issue of Challenges (ISSN 2078-1547).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2018) | Viewed by 22206

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Edmond Sanganyado

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Interests: environmental analytical chemistry; wastewater treatment; marine chemistry; emerging contaminants; climate change; sustainability in education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Willis Gwenzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469 Potsdam, Germany
Interests: water pollution; risk assessment; risk mitigation; ecotoxicology; ecohydrology; hydrochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Developing countries, including those in Africa, have fast growing economies that are heavily reliant on natural resources, which, if not regulated, could be depleted. Furthermore, rapid industrialization and urbanization often result in environmental pollution, and exert considerable strain on urban infrastructure. Addressing these challenges requires an interdisciplinary approach that addresses the current and emerging issues, key opportunities and challenges in environmental, agricultural, and urban systems. Hence, over the past two decades, research interest in environmental, agricultural and urban systems has steadily increased in developing countries as sustainable development became a priority.

The current Special Issue of Challenges focuses on the achievements, emerging issues, opportunities, and challenges in environmental, agricultural and urban systems in developing countries with a special focus on Africa. This Special Issue will cover high quality papers on diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, environmental technology, agriculture, geology, urban systems and land use practices. The Special issue is meant to reflect the unique socio-economic and biophysical settings for environmental research in developing countries. We welcome original research articles, reviews, concept papers, brief reports, technical reports, short communications, invited expert viewpoints and commentaries. All submissions will be subject to a rigorous peer review process, and the Editors’ decisions will be final.

We invite high-quality manuscripts addressing, but not limited to:

  • Environmental pollution
  • Emerging contaminants
  • Urban agriculture
  • Sustainable cities/urban development
  • Urban informal settlements
  • Urban infrastucture
  • Waste management systems
  • Climate change
  • Sustainability in agriculture and mining
  • Green innvovations in water and wastewater treatment
  • Recent developments in environmental technology
  • Innovative research collaboration/funding models
  • Environmental/sustainability education and capacity-building
Dr. Edmond Sanganyado
Prof. Willis Gwenzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Challenges is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Climate change
  • Environmental pollution
  • Water/wastewater treatment
  • Emerging contaminants
  • Sustainability science
  • Environmental science
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Sustainable cities

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

12 pages, 868 KiB  
Review
Recurrent Cholera Outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa: Moving beyond Epidemiology to Understand the Environmental Reservoirs and Drivers
by Willis Gwenzi and Edmond Sanganyado
Challenges 2019, 10(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe10010001 - 7 Jan 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 13040
Abstract
Recurrent cholera outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) attracted a lot of research interest, raising questions about the effectiveness of current prevention and control methods. However, research on cholera and other water-borne diseases in Africa is dominated by epidemiological studies, while investigations on the [...] Read more.
Recurrent cholera outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) attracted a lot of research interest, raising questions about the effectiveness of current prevention and control methods. However, research on cholera and other water-borne diseases in Africa is dominated by epidemiological studies, while investigations on the environmental drivers and reservoirs of cholera remain scarce. The current discourse relating cholera to the environment in SSA is often limited to the rudimentary statement that, “cholera is caused by the consumption of contaminated water and food”. Yet, beyond this simplistic view, literature elsewhere shows that cholera outbreaks are controlled by its complex interactions with environmental drivers and reservoirs. This brings to question whether cholera can be eradicated in SSA without understanding these complex interactions. The current review seeks to (1) highlight the nature and dynamics of recent cholera outbreaks in SSA, (2) discuss the importance of environmental reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae, and anthropogenic and hydroclimatic drivers in controlling the dynamics of cholera outbreaks, and (3) highlight key knowledge gaps and future research directions, and the need to harness emerging research tools such as modeling, machine learning, data mining, and genomics techniques to better understand the cholera dynamics. By bringing to fore these often-overlooked issues in cholera research, we seek to stimulate discussion, and promote a shift toward cross-disciplinary research on cholera and other water-borne diseases in SSA and beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Horizon Scan of Research Achievements, Opportunities and Emerging Issues in Environmental, Agricultural and Urban Systems in Developing Nations)
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12 pages, 231 KiB  
Review
Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture as A Pathway to Food Security: A Review Mapping the Use of Food Sovereignty
by Michelle Chihambakwe, Paramu Mafongoya and Obert Jiri
Challenges 2019, 10(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe10010006 - 20 Dec 2018
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 8623
Abstract
Renewed interest in the nexus between sustainability and food security has led to growing discussions on the use of food sovereignty principles in agricultural practice. As a result of the transfiguration of the urban and socioeconomic landscape in the global South, urban and [...] Read more.
Renewed interest in the nexus between sustainability and food security has led to growing discussions on the use of food sovereignty principles in agricultural practice. As a result of the transfiguration of the urban and socioeconomic landscape in the global South, urban and peri-urban agriculture has been touted as a potential response to increasing food insecurity in cities. Yet, both urban and peri-urban agriculture and food sovereignty have attracted cursory scholarship and programming in Zimbabwe due to fixation on more dominant rural and conventional agriculture. Beyond the rudimentary idea that the urban landscape is unfit for food production, literature has demonstrated that urban households have ingrained urban and peri-urban agriculture into their livelihoods. Regardless, institutional arrangements governing the practice remain ambivalent towards the practice, bringing to question the ability of households to fully exploit the benefits of the practice. This review underscores that failure to involve of all stakeholders undermines urban and peri-urban agriculture, consequently leading to heightened food insecurity and use of unsustainable practices. By delving into the political economy of food, we hope to stimulate discussion centered on food sovereignty within and urban spaces and beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Horizon Scan of Research Achievements, Opportunities and Emerging Issues in Environmental, Agricultural and Urban Systems in Developing Nations)
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