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Program for the Study of
the African Environment
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The Program for the Study of the African Environment (PSAE) is a unit of Boston University's African Studies Center that promotes interdisciplinary research in the environmental history and human ecology of Africa. Our goal is to develop a better understanding of the complexities of human interactions with the environment through the integration of research perspectives from the humanities, the social sciences, and the biological and earth sciences. The PSAE seeks to integrate the study of the African environment into research and training programs, and to develop cooperative programs with colleagues and students in Africa and at Boston University. This includes exploring environmental
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click on photo for images
MODIS 500m composite image GLCF.
2005225 * |
| dynamics and human-environment interactions that illuminate issues of health, economic development, conservation and management of resources, cultural ecology, historical change, and aesthetic expression.
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The PSAE draws on particular strengths in research and training in environmental studies at Boston University and among our international partners. These include Boston University’s Department of Geography and Environment, the Center for Remote Sensing (CRS), the Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology (CECB), the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP), and the School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health. International partners include Addis Ababa University, the International Centre for the Improvement of Wheat and Maize (Mexico City), the International Livestock Research Institute (Addis Ababa), and the International Water Management Institute.
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Related Courses and Programs
Graduate students may pursue disciplinary training via established degree programs and joint degree programs in the departments of Anthropology, Archaeology, Biology, Geography, Earth Sciences, History, and the School of Public Health. Courses appear under the listings of those departments.
Publications: PSAE Research Series
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Current and Planned Projects:
The Agro-ecology of Maize and Malaria in Ethiopia (James McCann, PI; Asnakew Keloede, Alfredo Burlando, Michael DiBlasi) is a Rockefeller-funded research project to assess the role of maize cultivation in epidemic and endemic malaria in Ethiopia. Partners on this research project include the Harvard School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, the International Centre for the Improvement of Wheat and Maize (Mexico City), the International Livestock
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Anopheles mosquito
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| Research Institute (Addis Ababa), and the International Water Management Institute. Project results (1) Project results (2).
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African Natures: The Tastes and Textures of Globalization (James McCann) is a book project that will distill evidence from agronomy, archaeology, anthropology, ethnobotany, linguistics, and cultural history into a narrative account of the history, geography, and consumption of food in Africa. While the book will acknowledge pre-modern African innovations in the production, processing, and presentation of what they eat, this story will emphasize the centrality of global contacts in framing Africa's foodways in the last half millennium, from the influence of the Mediterranean basin, to importation of starches and flavors from the Indian Ocean, to the adoption of foods from the New World. Major sub-themes will include the seasonal nature of food and cooking, the historical geography of staples, oils and spices, and the comparative ecology of food crops.
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Late Holocene Landscape Transformations and Culture Change at Aksum, Ethiopia (Magaly Koch, PI; Michael DiBlasi, Co-PI; Sucharita Gopal, Co-PI). This interdisciplinary project examines the evolution of Late Holocene landscapes and cultural ecology in the Aksum region of northern Ethiopia—the core area of the Aksumite state (ca. 150 BC–AD 850). |
3-D model of Aksum region based on
IKONOS image (M.Koch)**
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Using data derived from remote sensing techniques, geomorphological investigations, and archaeological fieldwork, the project will reconstruct the history of human-environment relationships and culture change for the period ca. 2000 BC to AD 1000. Current partners in the project include the University of Naples "L’Orientale," Addis Ababa University and Mekelle University (Ethiopia), and the Geological Survey of Ethiopia. The project has been funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant #0554693), the National Geographic Society, and contributions from private donors. Project results.
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Biology and Conservation of African Great Lakes Fishes (Leslie Kaufman, PI). This cluster of projects investigates topics in ecology and sustainable development in East Africa's Great Lakes region. Current work is focused on the food webs, fisheries, and conservation of endangered fishes of Lake Victoria, and on brain and behavior in the fishes of Lake Tanganyika. Our partners include the fisheries research institutes of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the New England Aquarium.
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Potential Sources of Groundwater in the Eastern Sahara (Farouk El-Baz, PI). This ongoing program of research has focused on the location of potential sites of groundwater concentration in this hyper-arid region of North Africa. The eastern Sahara has experienced many humid phases throughout the past 300,000 years. Surface water was channeled by drainage patterns, some of which are now exposed, and others are covered by eolian sand. The mapping of these drainage patterns is essential to the evaluation of the groundwater potential of these regions. The research has been supported by grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Geological Correlations Program (IGCP) of UNESCO, and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
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Superimposed Landsat and radar
imagery revealing paleochannels below
the surface, Western Desert, Egypt**
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Flash Flood Hazards of Active Wadis in Arid Lands (Magaly Koch, PI. Co-investigators Eman Ghoneim, BU-CRS; and Mohamed Gadel-Hak, Desert Research Institute, Cairo). In this pilot study, satellite images (ASTER data) are used for natural-hazard assessment studies at selected wadis (dry river beds) in Egypt's Red Sea coast region. Urban development along the coast as well as periodical flash floods may cause severe damage to coastal ecosystems as well as infrastructure and archaeological sites if no protective measures are taken.
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3-D ASTER false color composite image,
Red Sea Coast, Egypt (M. Koch) **
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Therefore, ASTER satellite image data, including an ASTER DEM (digital elevation model), are being used to study the flash-flood generation potential of selected wadi systems along the Red Sea coast. Runoff generation and groundwater recharge rates will be predicted in order to assess the environmental hazard of these wadis and to characterize the palaeoenvironment in which ancient settlements may have existed.
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The Marine Management Area Science Program (Caroly Shumway) is a collaboration with Conservation International that focuses on the effectiveness of marine conservation zoning in the near-shore tropics. Our partner in East Africa and the Malagasy Republic is the private non-profit organization CORDIO.
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Contact information
PSAE
African Studies Center
Boston University
270 Bay State Rd.
Boston, MA 02215
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Dr. James C. McCann, Director, PSAE mccann@bu.edu |
Dr. Michael DiBlasi, Associate Director, PSAE mdib@bu.edu |
Tel: 617-353-3673, Fax: 617-353-4975
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Participating Boston University Faculty
Dr. Gillian Cooper-Driver, Professor Emerita, Dept. of Biology
Dr. Michael DiBlasi, Dept. of Archaeology and African Studies Center
Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Center for Remote Sensing
Dr. Sucharita Gopal, Dept. of Geography and Environment
Dr. Kris Heggenhougen, School of Public Health
Dr. Leslie Kaufman, Dept. of Biology
Dr. Magaly Koch, Center for Remote Sensing
Dr. James C. McCann, Dept. of History and African Studies Center
Dr. Richard Primack, Dept. of Biology
Dr. Robert Ryder, School of Public Health
Dr. Parker Shipton, Dept. of Anthropology
Dr. Caroly Shumway, Dept. of Biology and New England Aquarium
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Institutional Partners (via joint research)
Harvard School of Public Health
Universitá di Napoli, "L'Orientale" (Italy)
Cambridge University (UK)
Environmental Studies Program, Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia)
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute
Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Uganda
Desert Research Institute, Egypt
Mekelle University (Ethiopia)
Geological Survey of Ethiopia
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Image Credits:
*Source: University of Maryland, Dept. of Geography
**Source: Boston University, Center for Remote Sensing
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