Assignment 1

Kai Bermudez Professor Frazier 9/19/2020

Amartya Sen defines human development as “the enhancement of freedoms that allow people to lead lives that they have reason to live…” “…development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systemic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or overactivity of repressive states.” He believes that in order for a society to flourish, the removal of unfreedoms must occur. I believe the primary start to progressing a society is having safe access to water and food. Therefore, I decided to examine Ethiopia, a country with a serious problem of access to clean water.

1) Dr Samuel Godfrey, & Godfrey. (2018, January 01). Using GIS and Remote Sensing to Access Water in the Drought. Retrieved September 19, 2020 from https://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/reports/using-gis-and-remote-sensing-access-water-drought

In this article by UNICEF, a humanitarian aid and development agency in the United Nations, it examines the results of using various data science techniques to increase the success rates of water drilling sites in Ethiopia and Madagascar. Both of these countries have serious problems with clean water, and their situations are only being made worse from climate change. However, for this annotated bibliography, the focus will be on Ethiopia.

UNICEF is using remote sensing to scan Ethoipian land and find sites which are listed as high potential sites for the extraction of water. UNICEF is also able to combine their remote sensing findings with their hydrogeological, meteorological, and geophysical data to create maps illustrating their findings. These maps are used to identify the most potentially successful drilling sites in order to conserve costs and time, and provide water to hundreds of thousands of people.

The results have had massive success in Ethiopia with their drilling success rates increasing from 50 percent to 90 percent! Rather than putting in all of the effort to drill and not knowing if you were wasting your time, now you are almost guaranteed a favorable outcome. Now that monetary resources can be conserved, UNICEF can help more people on the path forward to development. The Human development problem that this article is trying to address is the most basic issue of development. This article and the data from the results is successfully trying to advance the people of Ethiopia in general. This relates to Amaryta Sen’s definition of human development by helping the neglect of public facilities. This is not meant to accuse the Ethiopian government of neglect, however the article instead assists the people of this country to survive. The most important sustainable development goal that can be considered from this article is how it can give people a chance to survive for longer, and actually use water from these drilling sites for other activities like farming and hygienic needs. According to downtoearth.org, as of 2017, “Seven in ten people use toilets instead of in the open.” The article mentions that 25 years ago that number was only at one out of ten people. With more access to water, that number can only increase. The geospatial datasets used by UNICEF were satellite images (remote sensing), and they were combined with additional data sources to create maps of the best potential areas to drill for water. Additionally, there were a number of surveys to analyze various areas of water in Ethiopia. The article also mentions that “Resistivity surveys were undertaken using the vertical electrical sounding technique. Also, 50 water quality samples were collected and analysed to determine the hydrogeochemical characteristics of the district.” All of these sources of data were combined and cross referenced to find the best areas for drilling.

2) Getahun, G. B. (2020). Hotspots of unimproved sources of drinking water in ethiopia: Mapping and spatial analysis of ethiopia demographic and health survey data 2016. BMC Public Health, 20, 1-8. Retrieved September 19, 2020 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08957-2

This article explains how as of 2016, 35 percent of people were still unable to access clean water. However, Ethiopia has set the goal that by 2030, the number of people without access to clean water will be down to zero. Therefore, Getahun Bogale, the author of the article, believes that in order for Ethiopia to be successful, they will have to create maps of concentrated areas where there are unimproved water sources. This is to be done so that resources are not exasperated, so that the country can proceed to their 2030 goal as soon as possible.

The study examined in this article was conducted in 2016, and was able to receive data from over 10,000 homes. This survey used a structured questionnaire, and from the results, statistical analysis was able to be applied. Since most of the data was reliable, the conductors of the study were able to be entered into mapping software to create maps of these concentrated areas, so that funds can be allocated accurately. From this data, 143 concentrated areas, or clusters, were found. Of these 143 results, eight were the most significant. Bogale believes that “these results will be determinant to help decision makers in their (Ethiopia’s) geographical interventions to combat problems related to drinking water quality.”

This article relates to Amartya Sen’s definition of human development because this clustering of hotspots can actually save the Ethiopian government money, and can help people to lift themselves out of poverty with assistance from the government. Also, having access to clean water can certainly extend people’s lifespans, and can subsequently give them more opportunities, or freedom, as Amartya Sen would say, to pursue economic goals or aspirations. The monetary savings from the Ethiopian government and the general progress of an individual’s quality of life from receiving clean water would be two dimensions of human development that the article is trying to address. Access to clean water is in it of itself a sustainable development goal. Other sustainable development goals might include lowering poverty and hunger, as well as increasing peoples’ health. In terms of geospatial datasets in the article, there were 10,000 results from a reputable survey which was used to create a mapped guide of which areas needed access to clean water the most. Geospatial data science methods in this article weren’t prevalent, however, I still felt this source was an important one to consider when looking at water access in Ethiopia. The article and study were successful at finding the areas in Ethiopia where access to clean water was needed the most, which was the question that was trying to be answered.

3) Gidey, A. (2018, May 21) Geospatial distribution modeling and determining suitability of groundwater quality for irrigation purpose using geospatial methods and water quality index (WQI) in Northern Ethiopia. Applied Water Science 8, 82 . Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0722-x

With this source, Amanuel Gidey is looking at how data from satellite geospatial imaging and using water quality information can help sustain irrigation in Northern Ethiopia. Since Gidey has decided to use two strong sources of data to solve the potential future issue of the lack of irrigation, this gives this study an additional layer of reliability. In fact, he says that “Determining suitability and vulnerability of groundwater quality for irrigation use is a key,” in managing groundwater resources to keep people’s access to farming alive. With this article, it looks at the supply of water for the use of agriculture more so than for drinking.

This is an important and pressing issue for Ethiopia, and on the same level as having access to clean drinking water. Without sustainable farming, people are going to struggle to buy necessary goods for survival. Not only can providing food for individuals and their families come from farming, but this can also be an economic opportunity of selling one’s crop that could be taken away without studys like this to point funds in the right direction. The study showed that 39 samples were taken. With these samples, “Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, ultraviolet spectrophotometer, titration and calculation methods were used for laboratory groundwater quality analysis.” Also, “Arc GIS, geospatial analysis tools, semivariogram model types and interpolation methods were used to generate geospatial distribution maps.” These are some of the geospatial datasets included in the article. The results of the study showed that there were 341 km^2 of land measured, and showed about 43% of land usable, about 40% of land somewhat usable, and about 18% of land unusable for irrigation.

This article relates to Amaryta Sen’s definition of human development because it is helping to advance the freedom of having economic opportunities, as well as having basic access to food. Two dimensions of human development which are being addressed by Gidey and the article include economic cash savings and the basic necessity of having food to eat. A sustainable development goal to be considered by this article would be primarily lowering hunger. With the water access for irrigation becoming more widespread, then more farms would be able to be sustained for longer periods of time. Some geospatial data science methods included in this article include many instances of geospatial data modeling, as well as remote sensing on the land of Northern Ethiopia. The author is probably investigating the process of having reliable food sources throughout the future of the country for the people of Northern Ethiopia. The question that Gidey was investigating was determining the quality of groundwater for the purpose of irrigation use using remote sensing and other data sources. Overall, it seems Gidey’s study was successful in creating models from the data which show which areas of land are best or worst for irrigation.

4) Hussein, A., Govindu, V. & Nigusse, A.G.M. (2016, June 17) Evaluation of groundwater potential using geospatial techniques. Applied Water Science 7, 2447–2461. Retrieved September 19, 2020 from https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-016-0433-0

This article looks at groundwater (similar to the previous article), yet in this article, it evaluates the water more for other purposes, not just irrigation. Instead, it looks at data from remote sensing of satellite imagery of Northern Ethiopia, as well as previous data, and identifies where the best relative sources of water are. This is important because from this data, Ethiopians can truly understand which sources of water are the best and the government can allocate resources to areas where the water is not up to par to help the people out.

As the article points out, climate change ravages countries worldwide, the use of high quality groundwater is becoming increasingly important, especially for countries early on in development. A unique problem which the study identifies, is the “absence of updated spatial information on the quantity and distribution of groundwater.” Countries beginning to emerge and develop often had used field surveyors to evaluate the groundwaters of Ethiopia. However, this is an issue because it wastes time and often money. The results of this study found that out of the area which was tested (Northern Ethiopia), that the central and eatern areas had the highest quality water.

This article relates to Amaryta Sen’s definition of human development, similarly to the other articles, because water is probably the most basic freedom which people can acquire. It could also relate to the (probably not intentional) neglect of public facilities in terms of providing water access to all. (As mentioned previously, Ethiopia has a 2030 goal to be able to provide water access to all, so some credit should be given). This is the dimension of human development which is being addressed by the authors, the basic access of drinkable water as the first part of a developing country. The sustainable development goal here is essentially people extending their lifespans by being able to drink clean water. Some of the datasets used by the authors include considering “eight major biophysical and environmental factors like geomorphology, lithology, slope, rainfall, land use land cover (LULC), soil, lineament density and drainage density.” These data for these factors came from satellite imaging, a digital elevation model, and other existing data. The biggest example of a geospatial data science method is the remote sensing which was conducted. The satellite mapping of the study area in Northern Ethiopia gave the study significant data. The scientists in this study were trying to determine which regions of Northern Ethiopia had the most clean water, and the study was successful.

5) Teshome, M. (2016, March). Farmers’ vulnerability to climate change-induced water poverty in spatially different agro-ecological areas of northwest ethiopia. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 7(1), 142-158. Retrieved September 19, 2020 from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1920655706/fulltext/7ABC63170C544B9APQ/1?accountid=15053

One of the biggest issues facing the world throughout the near future is climate change. Rising sea levels, more extreme weather conditions, and more hurricanes are all results of a society that prioritizes the greedy acquisition of money in the short term over the health of the world in the long term. Although there are many studies put out by scientists telling major economic countries they need to control their carbon emissions, nothing serious seems to have been done as a worldwide community at the current moment.

This is why in this source, the examination of Farmer’s vulnerability to climate change is the focus of the study. This article looks at the amount that farmers in Northwest Ethiopia are vulnerable to climate change caused poverty. In this study, written by Menberu Teshome, data was collected from 525 homes in varying types of land areas, (highlands, midlands, and lowlands) using a thorough survey. It additionally used meteorological data. It used the data from these sources and found that homes in lowland areas were more susceptible to problems stemming from climate change.

This article relates to Amaryta Sen’s definition of human development because it definitely illustrates the neglect of public facilities, as well as repressive states like China (as a major contributor of climate change) could be limiting the public’s voice on stopping climate change. I would say that the dimension of human development which is being addressed by Teshome’s article is probably access to a long and healthy life. If people living in lowlands areas are potentially in future danger, I would consider that a strong aspect of human development which should be addressed. The sustainable development goal in this article would be being able to live in the same area and possibly make a living farming there. This would be a development goal which expands peoples’ economic freedoms. The datasets which were used by the authors included a survey given out to various areas and groups of people about their sustainability through climate change. The main geospatial data science method probably included some help from remote sensing of satellite imagery put into meteorological data. The scientific question which the author is seeking to answer was finding out which type of land was the most susceptible to climate change in Northern Ethiopia, and the result was those living in lowlands areas.