10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Poverty, conflict/crisis, climate change, and poor agricultural practices have been the major contributors to food insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the cosmopolitan Ilorin Emirate. low income, poor educational system, oil dependency, unemployment, laziness, health challenges, environmental degradation, bad governance, and debt burden have been interconnected to trigger food insecurity in...

Pastoralist communities in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of Northern Kenya have long relied on highly sophisticated Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) to navigate extreme climate variability. However, accelerating climate change, socio-ecological pressures, and technocratic policy frameworks increasingly threaten the continuity and operational authority of these traditional practices....

Land use and land cover (LULC) change is a major driver of freshwater ecosystem degradation, yet its cascading effects on aquatic biota through water quality remain poorly quantified in East African reservoir systems. This study examined (i) the influence of LULC change on water quality, and (ii) the synergistic effects of LULC and water quality on tadpole abundance across three Ziwa...

Wetlands are biodiversity hotspots that provide essential habitats for birds but are increasingly threatened by habitat modification and anthropogenic disturbance. Understanding how bird communities vary across wetland landscapes is fundamental for effective conservation planning. This study assessed bird diversity, richness, abundance, and spatial distribution across natural and modified...

The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of Environmental Education and awareness in Waste management and Promoting environmental Sustainability. Environmental degradation and waste management challenges persist in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria posing significant threats to the health, well-being, and sustainable development of the community....

Freshwater ecosystems in tropical Africa face escalating anthropogenic pressures, underscoring the urgent need for robust and cost-effective biomonitoring frameworks. This study evaluated stream health across three freshwater streams; Famak, Tokunbo, and Kofawe tributaries of Oluwa River in Igbokoda, southwest Nigeria, using aquatic insect assemblages associated with leaf-litter and leaf-pack...

Industrial effluent management remains a significant environmental challenge, particularly in developing countries such as Kenya, where rapid industrialization has increased the risks of water pollution and public health hazards. Distillery industries generate large volumes of wastewater characterized by high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), total dissolved solids,...

At the wake of climate change, natural resources remain central to the livelihoods and resilience of rural African communities, particularly those dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Increasing climate variability, characterized by erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts and declining water availability, continues to undermine agricultural productivity, food and nutrition security, and the...

Wetland ecosystems play a critical role in supporting rural livelihoods and maintaining environmental sustainability, yet they face increasing pressure from overutilization, weak institutional frameworks, and rapid land-use conversion. While general livelihood studies exist, there remains a critical empirical knowledge gap regarding the precise quantitative influence of specific wetland...

Dung beetles are highly regarded for their contribution in the reduction of horseflies that breed in dung pads. Fresh mammalian dung pads remain an essential resource for different dung-breeding flies from the families of Tabanidae, Muscidae, and Scarabaeidae. Members of these dipteran flies are known to be pests and vectors of disease-causing pathogens of large mammals. The role of dung...

It is understood that the major natural cause of weather and climate is solar radiation. But as soon as there is imbalance between the incoming (the electromagnetic shortwave radiation) and the outgoing (infrared) radiation due to persistent emissions of greenhouse gases, there arises a change in climate of which abnormal variability in the distribution of the elements of weather and climate...

Anthropogenic and natural factors drive Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change leading to multiple environmental challenges. Analyzing these modifications provides useful information to support planning and implementation of sustainable landscape management. The study aimed to analyze LULC changes and trends in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya, over 22 years from 2001 to 2023. Mixed-methods approach was...

Landfill licensing is a key regulatory tool for enforcing South Africa’s waste-management hierarchy and protecting water resources. However, the operational performance of licensed municipal landfill sites remains poorly documented. This study assessed the relationship between landfill authorisation, licence-condition compliance and environmental protection in the Upper Vaal Catchment Area. A...

E-mobility success innovations that have greatly promoted green e-mobility and help significantly reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Electric buses are predominantly in Africa, Asia, Europe mostly that are still characterized by rapid urbanization, urban sprawl, proliferated vehicular traffic in all major cities globally. Light-duty vehicles are an integral part of the global vehicular...

The growing urgency to address environmental degradation and climate change has intensified the adoption of green technologies as a strategy for promoting sustainable development. Despite increasing investments in green technologies, there is limited empirical evidence on the mechanisms by which these technologies simultaneously enhance environmental and economic sustainability, particularly...

Climate change negatively affects smallholder farmers in South Africa, and several factors, including ageing water infrastructure and ineffective governance systems, exacerbate these impacts. A concurrent embedded mixed-methods research design was used to collect data from smallholder farmers across 15 historical towns in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. A total of 191 participants either...

The growing challenges in the agricultural sector due to climate change have accentuated the need for drought-resistant species, particularly in regions where water scarcity is a chronic problem. The cultivation of drought-resistant species has become crucial for agricultural sustainability and the conservation of medicinal plant resources. As global temperatures rise and weather patterns...

Declining agricultural productivity have intensified livelihood challenges, thereby influencing migration patterns and local security dynamics. This study assesses the impact of climate change on migration and security in Osi. It specifically examines the major climate-related environmental changes experienced in the area, investigates the relationship between climate variability and migration...

Nigeria's agricultural sector faces mounting pressures from climate change, land degradation, and competition over pasture and water, fueling farmer–herder conflicts with severe consequences for food security and national stability. Open grazing on institutional farmlands, including the University of Ilorin, underscores the need for climate-smart fodder interventions. This study assessed...

This paper examines Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), as a water saving strategy and an adaptation measure to impact of climate change in rice growing. This is because of the declining per capita water resources and the buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane gas due to paddy system and anaerobic respiration. The AWD which involves periodic draining and re-flooding of rice fields,...

This study investigated the relationship between Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and Integrated Management Plans (IMPs) in promoting sustainable development in rural settlements adjacent to protected areas, using in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, as a case study. Within a constructivist/interpretive paradigm, the study employed purposive sampling using semi-structured interviews...

This study examined the socio-technical factors influencing the uptake of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy among households in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. Using a mixed-methods research design, hypothetical data from 210 respondents were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics, complemented by thematic analysis of simulated interview responses. The findings indicated that...

Climate change poses serious threats to farmers by increasing risks that directly and indirectly affect agricultural productivity, household livelihoods, and food security. In emerging economies such as Nigeria, climate variability has contributed to unstable and declining agricultural output. Farmers face challenges including erratic weather patterns, droughts, floods, and temperature...

Pharmaceutical effluents pose serious risks to aquatic systems and public health because they contain persistent organic pollutants, toxic metals, and active pharmaceutical compounds that are poorly removed by conventional treatment systems. This study evaluated three lime peel based filtration media (raw lime peel (LP), lime peel biochar (LB), and clay integrated lime peel biochar (CI-LB)) in...

The realities of climate change have unequivocally touched on all human endeavors leading to adjustments in lifestyles and adapting to its effects. The rural people, the majority of whom the means of livelihood are particularly connected to climate related events seem to be the most vulnerable. This study aimed to examine the adaptation strategies of the inhabitants of Sentu, a rural community...

Water scarcity is a challenge in South Africa. Large water-consuming institutions, such as universities, are under pressure to implement effective water conservation strategies. This study assessed the current understanding and effectiveness of water conservation practices at a university of technology in South Africa. An online survey was conducted among 102 students and staff. This was...

The Kenyan retail supermarket sector has experienced considerable turbulence, with once-dominant chains collapsing despite initial rapid expansion. This has necessitated investigation into alternative strategies that could enhance supermarket performance. This study specifically examined the effect of green procurement on the performance of registered supermarkets in Kenya. Grounded in...

Sub-Theme: Natural resources, climate change, and sustainable development
Rural–urban migration continues to affect the availability of agricultural labour in rural communities, with significant implications for farm productivity, household livelihoods, and rural food security. This study examined the effect of rural–urban migration on agricultural labour supply among farming households in...

Access to safe drinking water remains a pressing challenge across rural South Africa, where resource constraints severely limit the frequency and coverage of water quality monitoring. The Water Quality Index (WQI), while providing an accessible summary metric of water safety, requires extensive laboratory analyses, limiting its operational scalability. This study develops, validates, and...

Bamboo has been designated Kenya's 16th scheduled cash crop since 2020, yet enterprise uptake in smallholder farmlands remains constrained despite its potential for climate resilience, livelihood diversification, and contribution to national development goals. Guided by Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, this study investigated factors influencing bamboo enterprise uptake in Busia and Elgeyo...

Crop recommendation system an innovation in precision agriculture, plays a critical role in improving productivity by identifying suitable crops based on soil and climatic conditions. This study presents a comparative analysis of supervised machine learning algorithms for innovative crop recommendation using agro-environmental parameters, including Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, temperature,...

Anaerobic co-digestion offers an integrated route for renewable energy generation and organic-waste management, but digestion of protein-rich fish offal is frequently constrained by rapid acidification, volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation and pH instability. These challenges are particularly relevant in Kenya, where bioenergy remains a major component of final energy demand even as...

The discharge of untreated industrial wastewater containing cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) that cause development of kidney disease in human into the environment has become a major public health and ecological concern. Conventional treatment methods are often expensive, inefficient at low concentrations and generate secondary pollutants. Therefore, the need for development of...

Despite the growing recognition of the farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria as a critical threat to livelihoods and social cohesion, there remains limited understanding of how intergroup interactions and trust shape conflict dynamics and household welfare outcomes, particularly food security and mental health in rural Nigeria. This observational study therefore analyzed how farmer-herder...