Thulani F Magagula - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Thulani F Magagula
This paper describes a case study that uses a remote sensing technique, the Surface Energy Balanc... more This paper describes a case study that uses a remote sensing technique, the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) to assess actual evapotranspiration across a range of land uses in the middle part of the Olifants Basin in South Africa.. SEBAL enables the estimation of pixel scale ETa using red, near infrared and thermal bands from satellite sensors supported by ground-based measurements of wind speed, humidity, solar radiation and air temperature. The Olifants River system, although supplying downstream users in Mpumalanga Province (South Africa) and Chokwe District (Mozambique), is over-committed, principally for irrigation, in the upper reaches. Therefore, quantification of evapotranspiration from irrigated lands is very useful to monitor respect of compliance in water allocations and sharing of benefits among different users.
This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based assessment of the demographic dyn... more This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based assessment of the demographic dynamics related to water access and poverty in the 54,672 km 2 Olifants water management area of South Africa. Publicly available numerical and spatial data are used to perform spatial analysis 1 of census variables and area ratios to create gridded maps from which statistics for any area of interest could be extracted. The analysis reveals that the distribution of population in the Olifants basin (2.5 million people based on the 2001 census; currently estimated at 3.2 million) is highly skewed. Sixty percent of the population live in the former homelands 2 (which cover 26 % of the basin area) and the other 40% in the remaining 74% of land. Persons with no monthly income make up 75% of the total population and there is just 32% of the more than half a million households in the basin without an income. On one hand, this suggests that the situation at household level is not as bleak; on the other hand it also points to a high degree of dependency, with a few people earning for the many. In respect to access to water services, 42% of households (19% in the former homelands and 23% in the white areas) receive water within dwelling boundaries, 30% (18% former homelands and 12% white areas) get water from communal stands, and 28% (21% homelands and 7% white areas) still rely on natural sources (such as rivers, groundwater and dams). The dominant form of sanitation in the basin is the pit latrine with 54% of households using this form; however 14% of the total households in the basin are still without sanitation facilities. The backlogs in water services delivery are expected to be eradicated around 2013 while sanitation service provision is expected to be achieved by the year 2025. The paper highlights some of the data and information challenges faced by water managers in properly targeting interventions aimed at conserving resources and increasing land and water productivity for improved livelihoods, health and equity, especially in a basin with such a highly skewed distribution of resources.
This paper describes a case study that uses a remote sensing technique, the Surface Energy Balanc... more This paper describes a case study that uses a remote sensing technique, the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) to assess actual evapotranspiration across a range of land uses in the middle part of the Olifants Basin in South Africa.. SEBAL enables the estimation of pixel scale ETa using red, near infrared and thermal bands from satellite sensors supported by ground-based measurements of wind speed, humidity, solar radiation and air temperature. The Olifants River system, although supplying downstream users in Mpumalanga Province (South Africa) and Chokwe District (Mozambique), is over-committed, principally for irrigation, in the upper reaches. Therefore, quantification of evapotranspiration from irrigated lands is very useful to monitor respect of compliance in water allocations and sharing of benefits among different users.
This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based assessment of the demographic dyn... more This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based assessment of the demographic dynamics related to water access and poverty in the 54,672 km 2 Olifants water management area of South Africa. Publicly available numerical and spatial data are used to perform spatial analysis 1 of census variables and area ratios to create gridded maps from which statistics for any area of interest could be extracted. The analysis reveals that the distribution of population in the Olifants basin (2.5 million people based on the 2001 census; currently estimated at 3.2 million) is highly skewed. Sixty percent of the population live in the former homelands 2 (which cover 26 % of the basin area) and the other 40% in the remaining 74% of land. Persons with no monthly income make up 75% of the total population and there is just 32% of the more than half a million households in the basin without an income. On one hand, this suggests that the situation at household level is not as bleak; on the other hand it also points to a high degree of dependency, with a few people earning for the many. In respect to access to water services, 42% of households (19% in the former homelands and 23% in the white areas) receive water within dwelling boundaries, 30% (18% former homelands and 12% white areas) get water from communal stands, and 28% (21% homelands and 7% white areas) still rely on natural sources (such as rivers, groundwater and dams). The dominant form of sanitation in the basin is the pit latrine with 54% of households using this form; however 14% of the total households in the basin are still without sanitation facilities. The backlogs in water services delivery are expected to be eradicated around 2013 while sanitation service provision is expected to be achieved by the year 2025. The paper highlights some of the data and information challenges faced by water managers in properly targeting interventions aimed at conserving resources and increasing land and water productivity for improved livelihoods, health and equity, especially in a basin with such a highly skewed distribution of resources.