Abstract
Nigeria is a disaster prone country. The environmental problems associated with uncontrolled expansion and poor management has increased the vulnerability of Nigerian cities to major disasters. The combination of physical development on unsuitable lands such as wetlands, slopes, flood plains and other environmentally sensitive areas, and overcrowding, all exacerbate environmental degradation and vulnerability to environmental hazards in many of these cities especially Lagos. Flooding has become a major problem and a major issue on the political agenda in Lagos in recent years due largely to the increased frequency and intensity of these events. Climate change and anticipated increases in flooding will exacerbate the existing poverty among the urban poor which are in most cases worstly hit. Thus, this study examines the nature of livelihood systems and how these shape victims perception of floods on one hand, and the implications of the existing patterns of vulnerability created by gender, income and social position including the nature of physical infrastructure on the households ability to adapt to the effects of flood and coping among victims in Lagos. The study is hinged on a comprehensive conceptual framework and terminology of vulnerability that facilitates the integration of the different research traditions involved in vulnerability and adaptation to climate change research. The study utilized data from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data include questionnaire administration and Focus Group Discussion sessions among the flood victims in the affected areas. The secondary data on the other hand, include data from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Ministry of environment on flood victims in the State. Questionnaires are drawn to reflect the gender characteristics of respondents. This is to address gender differences in coping practices and adaptation. The result of the study is useful in designing appropriate institutional interventions capable of transiting victims from being painful victims to developing adaptive capacity to live with recurring floods. Key Words: Climate change; Urban vulnerability; Adaptation; Coping mechanisms, Flooding, Nigeria

Abstract
A 25 year long-term data set of nutrient concentrations from St Helena Bay has revealed a significant and positive increasing general trend for nitrate concentrations that is concurrent with a general and positive downward trend in bottom water oxygen concentrations (Currie et al., in prep). The implication of that finding is that new production rates may have increased over that time period, with a resulting increased downward flux of POC/N onto the shelf where microbial decomposition processes utilise oxygen, thereby creating the conditions of hypoxia that are frequently observed. This study takes the same nutrient data used by Currie et al (in prep) to calculate nitrate deficits in surface waters relative to the concentration of nitrate in newly upwelled water to estimate new production rates in St Helena Bay. These rates are compared with total productivity of the region derived from satellite imagery and we evaluate whether the rates of total and new productivity have indeed changed substantially over the last 25 year period as increasing hypoxia of bottom water implies.

Abstract
Modern polarographic and voltammetric methods can be successfully used for large scale monitoring of electrochemically active environmental pollutants . Great attention is devoted to the various possibilities of elimination of problems connected with electrode passivation . One possible solution is the application of the paste electrodes with easily renewable surface. The silver solid amalgam can be used to prepare the so called silver solid amalgam paste electrode. Pastes can be made from fine powder of the silver solid amalgam mixed with a suitable pasting liquid. These pastes can be stuffed into a Teflon body of the electrode and there is a possibility to easily renew the electrode surface by pulling out and wiping off the paste. In combination with an electrochemical pretreatment of the electrode, it gives a good stability and reproducibility of voltammetric signals. Various types of silver amalgams with various pasting liquids were successfully tested and applied for the determination trace amounts of 4-nitrophenol as a model electrochemically reducible environmental pollutant.

Abstract
Coastal zones around the world are being bombarded with development pressures. The largest local pressure is certainly the urbanisation pressure; notwithstanding its operation against the backdrop of global climate change. Coastal management decisions, which are often concerned with how much natural ecosystem to conserve versus allocate to human development activities, is largely taking effect in a vacuum (of both local and global consequences). The wanton erosion of the resilience of many coastal ecosystems has a twofold effect ? on the one hand, it has diminished its ability to protect us from disturbance; and on the other, it has eroded the resilience of many social systems to natural catastrophes has been reduced as demand for land for urbanisation has forced people to settle and organize economic activities in vulnerable areas. Ecosystem valuation has become a significant area of research aimed at generating a better and more comprehensive understanding of baseline information for the policy formulation and decision-making process. This paper critically reviews the literature on economic valuation of ecosystem services across the range of terrestrial coastal ecosystems. It draws as its starting point that while most studies cover ecosystems, terrestrial coastal ecosystems as distinct, and as important conduits between the terrestrial and marine interface have received little attention, or have been addressed separately. It argues that the concept of ecosystems services provides a robust and complementary rationale for conservation, as compared to the traditional arguments of conservation based on intrinsic value. Furthermore, it advocates multidimensional valuation studies that capture the before and after states of ecosystem changes as important compliments to more informed decision making in land suitability for development versus conservation

Abstract
The hydrocarbons (HCs) are typical air pollutants causing photochemical smog or greenhouse effect. With the aim of producing new electrocatalysts for the butane oxidation reaction, and possibly other electrochemical oxidation processes, we have investigated the preparation and characterization of novel systems electrocatalysts for the oxydation of butane to produce less contaminant. Due to the feasibility to control the size and distribution of particles, the underpotential deposition was used. This method is very effective for the preparation of Mo-Ni Zr-Ni, Mo-Sn and Mo-Ni-Sn systems supported on the glass carbon (GC) at room temperature. The study of the codeposition process and the catalytic evaluation of different systems was performed in a thermostated three-electrode cell (T=22?C), using a microcomputer-controlled potentiostat/galvanostat Autolab with PGSTAT30 equip?ment and GPES software. Codeposits were prepared on glass carbon - based substrates (surface area 1 cm2). The reference electrode was an Ag/AgCl /1 mol dm-3 KCl electrode mounted in a Luggin capillary. The counterelectrode was a graphite rod . All solutions were prepared using reagent-grade chemicals [(NH4)2 Mo O4, 99.5 %, BDH), ( NiSO4.6H2O, 99%, Sigma), ( SnCl2.2H2O, 99%, BDH), (ZrOCl2.8H2O, 99%, Merck) (H3PO4 , p.a. Merck ) and ultrapure water (18.0 MQ cm-1) Milli-Q system. The n-butane (Matheson C.P., 99.99%) oxidative reaction was carried out with saturation in aqueous 0.5 M phosphoric acid solution, at 22?C. The n-butane is inert on GC under the experimental conditions of this work. Electrolytic phase formation of different systems on glassy carbon electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and potential step techniques. Analysis of the current-time transients obtained for each alloys, indicated that distinct mechanisms of nucleation are involved during the early stages of codeposits (1). Detailed analysis of these mechanisms will be presented. Evaluation of electrocatalytic activity for butane oxidation in 0.5 M H3PO4 solution showed interesting performance for Mo (29,9 %)-Ni (2,7%)-Sn(67,4%) / GC and Ni (28,97%)-Zr (71,03%)/GC. The calculated exchange current density (io) were 1.2 x 10-12 and 5.13 x 10-9 A.cm-2 , respectively. This fact is highly significant and promising for other HCs.