Abstract: Egypt has countless prestigious buildings and diversity of cultural heritage which are located in many cities. Most of the researchers, archaeologists, stakeholders and governmental bodies are paying more attention to the big cities such as Cairo and Alexandria, due to the country’s centralization nature. However, there are other historic cities that are grossly neglected and in need of emergency conservation. For instance, Port Said which is a former colonial city that was established in nineteenth century located at the edge of the northeast Egyptian coast between the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. This city is chosen because it presents one of the important Egyptian archaeological sites that archive Egyptian architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries. The historic urban fabric is divided into three main districts; the Arab, the European (Al-Afrang), and Port Fouad. The European district is selected to be the research case study as it has culture diversity, significant buildings, and includes the largest number of the listed heritage buildings in Port Said. Based on questionnaires and interviews, since 2003 several initiative trials have been taken by Alliance Francaise, the National Organization for Urban Harmony (NOUH), some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and few number of community residents to highlight the important city legacy and protect it from being demolished. Unfortunately, the limitation of their participation in decision-making policies is considered a crucial threat facing sustainable heritage conservation. Therefore, encouraging the local community to participate in their architecture heritage conservation would create a self-confident one, capable of making decisions for the city’s future development. This paper aims to investigate the role of the local inhabitants in protecting their buildings heritage through listing the community level of participations twice (2012 and 2018) in preserving their heritage based on the ladder citizen participation approach. Also, it is to encourage community participation in order to promote city architecture conservation, heritage management, and sustainable development. The methodology followed in this empirical research involves using several data assembly methods such as structural observations, questionnaires, interviews, and mental mapping. The questionnaire was distributed among 92 local inhabitants aged 18-60 years. However, the outset of this research at the beginning demonstrated the majority negative attitude, motivation, and confidence of the local inhabitants’ role to safeguard their architectural heritage. Over time, there was a change in the negative attitudes. Therefore, raising public awareness and encouraging community participation by providing them with a real opportunity to take part in the decision-making. This may lead to a positive relationship between the community residents and the built heritage, which is essential for promoting its preservation and sustainable development.
Abstract: The high terrains of Garhwal (Uttarakhand) Himalaya are the niches of a number of rare and endemic plant species of great therapeutic importance. However, the wild flora of the area is still under a constant threat due to rapid upsurge in human interferences, especially through multifarious tourism growth and peri-urban encroachments. After getting the status of a ‘Special State’ of the country since its inception in the year 2000, this newly borne State led to very rapid infrastructural growth and development. Consequently, its townships started expanding in an unmanaged way grabbing nearby agricultural lands and forest areas into peri-urban landscapes. Simultaneously, a boom in tourism and pilgrimage in the state and the infrastructural facilities raised by the government for tourists/pilgrims are destroying its biodiversity. Field survey revealed 242 plant species of therapeutic significance naturally growing in the area and being utilized by local inhabitants as traditional medicines. On conservation scale, 6 species (2.2%) were identified as critically endangered, 19 species (7.1%) as the endangered ones, 8 species (3.0%) under rare category, 17 species (6.4%) as threatened and 14 species (5.2%) as vulnerable. The Government of India has brought mega-biodiversity hot spots of the state under Biosphere Reserve, National Parks, etc. restricting all kinds of human interferences; however, the two most sacred shrines of Hindus and Sikhs viz. Shri Badrinath and Shri Hemkunt Sahib, and two great touristic attractions viz. Valley of Flowers and Auli-Joshimath Skiing Track oblige the government to maintain equilibrium between entries of visitors vis-à-vis biodiversity conservation in high terrains of Uttarakhand Himalaya.
Abstract: Leishmaniasis is the collective name for a number of
diseases caused by protozoan flagellates of the genus Leishmania,
which is transmitted by Phlebotomine sandfly, the disease has diverse
clinical manifestations and found in many areas of the world,
particularly in Africa, Latin America, South and Central Asia, the
Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. This study was done to
assess primary health care physicians’ knowledge (PHP) and attitude
about leishmaniasis and to assess awareness of local inhabitants
about the disease and its vector in four areas in west Alexandria,
Egypt. It is a cross sectional survey that was conducted in four PHC
units in west Alexandria. All physicians currently working in these
units during the study period were invited to participate in the study;
only 20 PHP completed the questionnaire. 60 local inhabitants were
selected randomly from the four areas of the study, 15 from each
area; Data was collected through two different specially designed
questionnaires. Results showed that 11 (55%) percent of the
physicians had satisfactory knowledge; they answered more than 9
(60%) questions out of a total 14 questions about leishmaniasis and
sandfly. On the other hand when attitude of the primary health care
physicians about leishmaniasis was measured, results showed that 17
(85%) had good attitude and 3 (15%) had poor attitude. The second
questionnaire showed that the awareness of local inhabitants about
leishmaniasis and sandfly as a vector of the disease is poor and needs
to be corrected. (90%) of the interviewed inhabitants had not heard
about leishmaniasis, Only 3 (5%) of them said they know sandfly and
its role in transmission of leishmaniasis. Thus we conclude that
knowledge and attitudes of physicians are acceptable. However, there
is, room for improvement and could be done through formal training
courses and distribution of guidelines. In addition to raising the
awareness of primary health care physicians about the importance of
early detection and notification of cases of leishmaniasis, health
education for raising awareness of the public regarding the vector and
the disease is necessary because related studies have demonstrated
that for inhabitants to take enough protective measures against the
vector, they should perceive that it is responsible for causing a
disease.
Abstract: This paper explores the sense of place in the Vredefort Dome World Heritage site, South Africa, as an essential input for the formulation of spatial planning proposals for the area. Intangible aspects such as personal and symbolic meanings of sites are currently not integrated in spatial planning in South Africa. This may have a detrimental effect on local inhabitants who have a long history with the site and built up a strong place identity. Involving local inhabitants at an early stage of the planning process and incorporating their attitudes and opinions in future intervention in the area, may also contribute to the acceptance of the legitimacy of future policy. An interdisciplinary and mixed-method research approach was followed in this study in order to identify possible ways to anchor spatial planning proposals in the identity of the place. In essence, the qualitative study revealed that inhabitants reflect a deep and personal relationship with and within the area, which contributes significantly to their sense of emotional security and selfidentity. Results include a strong conservation-orientated attitude with regard to the natural rural character of the site, especially in the inner core.