IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i11p1342-d117539.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Desert Dust and Health: A Central Asian Review and Steppe Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Troy Sternberg

    (School of Geography, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK)

  • Mona Edwards

    (Oxford Rock Breakdown Lab, School of Geography, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK)

Abstract

In Asian deserts environmental and anthropomorphic dust is a significant health risk to rural populations. Natural sources in dry landscapes are exacerbated by human activities that increase the vulnerability to dust and dust-borne disease vectors. Today in Central and Inner Asian drylands, agriculture, mining, and rapid development contribute to dust generation and community exposure. Thorough review of limited dust investigation in the region implies but does not quantify health risks. Anthropogenic sources, such as the drying of the Aral Sea, highlight the shifting dust dynamics across the Central EurAsian steppe. In the Gobi Desert, our case study in Khanbogd, Mongolia addressed large-scale mining’s potential dust risk to the health of the local population. Dust traps showed variable exposure to particulates among herder households and town residents; dust density distribution indicated that sources beyond the mine need to be considered when identifying particulate sources. Research suggests that atmospheric dust from multiple causes may enhance human particulate exposure. Greater awareness of dust in greater Central Asia reflects community concern about related health implications. Future human well-being in the region will require more thorough information on dust emissions in the changing environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Troy Sternberg & Mona Edwards, 2017. "Desert Dust and Health: A Central Asian Review and Steppe Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:11:p:1342-:d:117539
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/11/1342/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/11/1342/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Government of Fiji, 2017. "Climate Vulnerability Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 28870, The World Bank Group.
    2. Troy Sternberg, 2016. "Water megaprojects in deserts and drylands," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 301-320, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yi Ge & Guangfei Yang & Yi Chen & Wen Dou, 2019. "Examining Social Vulnerability and Inequality: A Joint Analysis through a Connectivity Lens in the Urban Agglomerations of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Erwin, Anna & Ma, Zhao & Popovici, Ruxandra & Salas O’Brien, Emma Patricia & Zanotti, Laura & Silva, Chelsea A. & Zeballos, Eliseo Zeballos & Bauchet, Jonathan & Calderón, Nelly Ramírez & Arce Larrea,, 2022. "Linking migration to community resilience in the receiving basin of a large-scale water transfer project," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    3. Jeong-Hee Eum & Kwon Kim & Eung-Ho Jung & Paikho Rho, 2018. "Evaluation and Utilization of Thermal Environment Associated with Policy: A Case Study of Daegu Metropolitan City in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Farshad Amiraslani, 2021. "‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ in Drylands: Late Knowledge Penetration or a Deliberate Ignorance for Megaprojects?," World, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-5, July.
    5. Daniela Salite, 2019. "Explaining the uncertainty: understanding small-scale farmers’ cultural beliefs and reasoning of drought causes in Gaza Province, Southern Mozambique," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(3), pages 427-441, September.
    6. Vladimir Leksin & Boris Porfiryev, 2017. "Specificities of Spatial System Transformation and Strategies of the Russian Arctic Redevelopment under the Conditions of Climate Changes," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(3), pages 641-657.
    7. Fei Li & Tan Yigitcanlar & Madhav Nepal & Kien Nguyen Thanh & Fatih Dur, 2022. "Understanding Urban Heat Vulnerability Assessment Methods: A PRISMA Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-34, September.
    8. Mohammad Abdul Quader & Amanat Ullah Khan & Matthieu Kervyn, 2017. "Assessing Risks from Cyclones for Human Lives and Livelihoods in the Coastal Region of Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, July.
    9. Alexandra Nichols, 2019. "Climate change, natural hazards, and relocation: insights from Nabukadra and Navuniivi villages in Fiji," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 255-271, September.
    10. Bednar-Friedl, Birgit & Knittel, Nina & Raich, Joachim & Adams, Kevin M., 2022. "Adaptation to transboundary climate risks in trade: investigating actors and strategies for an emerging challenge," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113693, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Gonzalo Piasek & Iraide Fernández Aragón & Julia Shershneva & Pilar Garcia-Almirall, 2022. "Assessment of Urban Neighbourhoods’ Vulnerability through an Integrated Vulnerability Index (IVI): Evidence from Barcelona, Spain," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Nadiia Charkovska & Mariia Halushchak & Rostyslav Bun & Zbigniew Nahorski & Tomohiro Oda & Matthias Jonas & Petro Topylko, 2019. "A high-definition spatially explicit modelling approach for national greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes: reducing the errors and uncertainties in global emission modelling," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 907-939, August.
    13. Md. Mashrur Rahman & Uttama Barua & Farzana Khatun & Ishrat Islam & Rezwana Rafiq, 2018. "Participatory Vulnerability Reduction (PVR): an urban community-based approach for earthquake management," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 93(3), pages 1479-1505, September.
    14. Mattia Amadio & Jaroslav Mysiak & Sepehr Marzi, 2019. "Mapping Socioeconomic Exposure for Flood Risk Assessment in Italy," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 829-845, April.
    15. Fabio De Felice & Ilaria Baffo & Antonella Petrillo, 2022. "Critical Infrastructures Overview: Past, Present and Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    16. Bing Wang & Hua-Nan Li & Xiao-Chen Yuan & Zhen-Ming Sun, 2017. "Energy Poverty in China: A Dynamic Analysis Based on a Hybrid Panel Data Decision Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, November.
    17. Marco Modica & Aura Reggiani & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Vulnerability, resilience and exposure: methodological aspects and an empirical applications to shocks," SEEDS Working Papers 1318, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Nov 2018.
    18. Staffieri, Irene & Sitko, Nicholas J. & Maluccio, John A., 2023. "Sustaining enrolment when rains fail: School feeding, rainfall shocks and schooling in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    19. Wenting Chen & Phoebe Koundouri & Osiel Gonzalez Davila & Claire Haggett & David Rudolph & Shiau-Yun Lu & Chia-Fa Chi & Jason Yu & Lars Golmen & Yung-Hsiang Ying, 2020. "Social acceptance and socioeconomic effects of Multi-Use Offshore Developments:Theory and Applications in MERMAID and TROPOS projects," DEOS Working Papers 2021, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    20. Jae Kyu Myung & Hyoung-Tae An & Su-Yol Lee, 2019. "Corporate Competitiveness Index of Climate Change: A Balanced Scorecard Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-16, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:11:p:1342-:d:117539. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.