Abstract The high plateaus of eastern Morocco are already suffering from the adverse impacts of climate change (CC), as the local populations’ livelihoods depend mainly on extensive sheep farming and therefore on natural resources. This research identifies breeders’ perceptions about CC, examines whether they correspond to the recorded climate data and analyses endogenous adaptation practices taking into account the agroecological characteristics of the studied sites and the difference between breeders’ categories based on the size of owned sheep herd. Data on perceptions and adaptation were analyzed using the Chi-square independence and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Climate data were investigated through Mann-Kendall, Pettitt and Buishand tests. Herders’ perceptions are in line with the climate analysis in term of nature and direction of observed climate variations (downward trend in rainfall and upward in temperature). In addition, there is a significant difference in the adoption frequency of adaptive strategies between the studied agroecological sub-zones (χ2 = 14.525, p <.05) due to their contrasting biophysical and socioeconomic conditions, as well as among breeders’ categories (χ2 = 10.568, p < .05) which attributed mainly to the size of sheep flock. Policy options aimed to enhance local-level adaptation should formulate site-specific adaptation programs and prioritise the small-scale herders.
The monoculture vegetable production systems practiced by Zimbabwean farmers has resulted in major disease outbreaks, causing major production constraints. There is need to determine the intensity of pesticides usage and methods of alternative disease management strategies. This study was carried out using 250 randomly selected vegetable farmers by administering questionnaires. The study objectives were to determine farmers’ perceptions on vegetable disease incidence and severity in relation to prevailing weather conditions, and determine common control methods practiced to manage fungal and bacterial disease outbreaks. The results indicated significant increases in fungal and bacterial disease incidence of 84.6% (within community cropping fields) and severity of 73.1% (within individual farmer fields) over the past 5-10 years (P £ 0.05). It also revealed disease incidence being highest [30.8%] during winter (May – July) and rainy months [23.1%] (November – February). Results further indicated 96.2% of the respondents relied on chemical methods, 53.8% used cultural control, and 11.5% used natural control methods. However, none of the farmers used bio-pesticide/biological control methods. In conclusion: farmers are aware of the disease shifts in response to different climate variability but seem unaware of the negative effects of extensive chemical use, nor existence of alternative bio-pesticide/biological disease management strategies.
The study examines the seasonality in climate and extreme weather events, and its effect on cattle production in the Guinea Savannah ecological zone of Nigeria. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Climate data of 34 years were used to examine the trends in rainfall pattern and climate variability while household survey was used to appraise the herders’ awareness of climate variability/change impacts and adaptation strategies. Cumulative Departure Index (CDI) method was used to assess the extreme weather events while descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic (MNL) regression model were used to identify the factors that determined herders’ adaptation strategies to climate change. The results revealed a significant spatiotemporal variation in both rainfall and temperature with CDI ranging from -1.39 to 3.3 and -2.3 to 1.81 respectively. The results revealed a reduction in the amount of water available for cattle production. From survey results, 97.5% of the herders identified drought as the major extreme weather event affecting livestock productivities in the study region. In the herder’s perception, the droughts are more severe in recent years than 34 years ago. The results from MNL revealed that extreme weather events, such as drought, has a positive likelihood on migration, at a 10% level of significance, the events has led to migration of cattle herders from the northern part of the study area toward the southern part in recent years.
Abstract Urban expansion in Latin-American cities is faster than urban planning. In order to implement sustainable planning the capacity of peri-urban areas to provide ecosystem services must be evaluated in the context of competing urbanization and conservation pressures. In this study we analyzed the effect of urban expansion on peri-urban vegetation of the Metropolitan Area of Santiago and what ecosystem services are provided by El Panul, land rich in biodiversity embedded in the fringe of the city. The city has lost vegetation while urbanized areas grow. Under this context, we evaluated the multi-functionality of El Panul through the quantification of three ecosystem services (ES): sense of place through the interviews of 60 residents, recreation via GIS analyses, and local climate regulation determined with air temperature measurements. El Panul increased the provision of urban green spaces, where inhabitants recognize and appreciate ES, and it plays a significant role in mitigating the urban heat island on summer nights. ES have emerged as a concept and framework for evaluating competing urban development alternatives.
The relationship between urban green, urban form and health remains unclear. This research explores health and urban green as well as urban structure as constituents of urban form. The objective was to develop a novel indicator (Neighbourhood Environmental Contribution, NEC) to analyse the spatial relationship between urban green and health (diabetes, mental health and self-rated health) on the neighbourhood scale. NEC performs more stably when regression models are adjusted for confounders. This suggests that better representations of urban form including the built-up structure of urban areas are promising.
Transformation, transition and regime shift are increasingly applied concepts in the academic literature to describe changes in society and the environment. Ecosystem services represent one framework that includes the implicit aim of supporting transformation towards a more sustainable system. Nevertheless, knowledge and systematic reviews on the use of these concepts within ecosystem services research are so far lacking. Therefore, we present a systematic literature review to analyse the interlinkages between these concepts and ecosystem services. Using a search string we identified 258 papers that we analysed based on 40 review criteria. Our results show that transformation was mentioned most often (197 articles), followed by transition (183 articles) and regime shifts (43 articles). Moreover, there is no consolidation of these concepts. Only 13% of all articles gave definitions for the three concepts. These definitions strongly overlapped in their use. Moreover, most papers described changes that happened in the past (73%). We conclude that research would benefit from being directed towards the future rather than evaluating what has happened in the past. Based on our results, we present: i) clear definitions for the three concepts; and ii) a framework highlighting the interlinkages between the ecosystem services cascade and the concepts of change.
Forest and agricultural landscapes are vital in relation to biodiversity. Protection policies in such areas should include incentives to enable the common landuse practices. Conservation cannot be addressed in the short term because these landscapes have evolved as socio-ecological systems and provide optimal conditions for biodiversity maintenance. They occur in areas where agriculture has not changed significantly as in the eastern Galician mountains. The landscape dynamics has been shaped by human involvement during centuries. We analyzed how the landscape has evolved according to environmental, socioeconomic and historical changes with the aim of proposing actions for its conservation. The study focused on the recovery of natural hardwood forests which have been intensively exploited since ancient times. Over the past few centuries, these forests have been transformed to agricultural land, felled for use in the naval, metallurgical and railway industries, expropriated from the Church, and affected by wildfire; more recently, have been replaced by fast growing species. Today, broadleaved forests cover small areas of rugged land where the topography often precludes other land uses. In conclusion, although the landscape in the study area has undergone a major transformation, now this land is a priority for biodiversity conservation.
Since the 1990’s, the groundwater quality along the southern coast of the Western Cape Province of South Africa has been affected by increasing land use activities. Groundwater resources have become increasingly important in terms of providing good quality water. Polluted coastal groundwater as a source of submarine groundwater discharge also affects the quality of coastal water. For this study, land use activities causing groundwater pollution and areas at particular risk were identified. An assessment approach linking land use/land cover, groundwater and submarine groundwater discharge on a meso-scale was developed and the methods applied to two study regions along the southern coastal area. Dryland and irrigated crop cultivation, and urbanized areas are subject to a “high” and “very high” risk of groundwater nitrogen pollution. Application of fertilizer must be revised to ensure minimal effects on groundwater. Practice of agricultural activities at locations which are not suited to the environment’s physical conditions must be reconsidered. Informal urban development may contribute to groundwater nitrogen pollution due to poor waste water disposal. Groundwater monitoring in areas at risk of nitrogen pollution is recommended. Land use activities in the submarine groundwater discharge contribution areas was not found to have major effects on coastal water.
Indian agriculture sector is a significant emitter of Green House Gas (GHG), which is projected to increase by 47% between 2011 and 2020. In response to this, India has committed itself to voluntarily reduce its emissions intensity (emissions per unit GDP) between 20 to 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. This would require rapid and significant scaling up of mitigation efforts including the agriculture sector, which remains a challenge, as mitigation is not a priority in Indian agriculture. The study found out that in-spite of numerous mitigation technologies that are readily available for takeoff, the scale of adoption and deployment is far from sufficient to meet the emission targets set by the Government of India, mainly due to lack of financial incentives, capacity building of farmers, and an enabling policy at different levels. This study identified a suite of feasible interventions for promoting low carbon agriculture such as: low tillage systems as it has negative costs due to savings on tillage and fuel; introduction of superior livestock breeds to reduce numbers (especially unproductive cattle) and increase yield; use of livestock wastes to produce energy for cooking and heating through bio-gas technology can not only reduce methane emission but also save electricity costs for the households and; introduction of carbon credits and exploration of domestic carbon markets. An enabling policy environment must be created for these interventions to take off.
AbstractThis study investigated the perceived effects of climate change on crop production and household livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Mopani and Vhembe district, South Africa. Data was collected through a questionnaire administered to 150 smallholder farmers. The questionnaires were complemented by 8 focus group discussions and secondary data. Multinomial logit regression model was used to analyse the factors influencing smallholder farmers’ choice of climate change adaptation strategies. The study findings revealed that subsistence farmers perceived prolonged droughts (56.4%) as the main shock stressing crop production. Droughts often lead to low crop yield and high crop failure (73.3%). In response to the prevailing climatic conditions different gender adopted different strategies, 41% of female farmers adapted by changing planting dates, while male farmers employed crop variety and diversification (35%) and mixed cropping (15%). The smallholder farmers were vulnerable with limited adaptive capacity to withstand climate change due to compromised social, human, physical, natural and financial assets. The results showed that smallholder farmers tend to adapt better when they have access to extension officers (P<0.01). Therefore, it is important for the government to strengthen the relationship between smallholder farmers and extension officers for better climate change adaptation.
A major challenge for water resource management in Western Cape, South Africa, is the reduction of the growing sediment and nutrient loads in coastal areas, which belong to the areas most affected by land use change. We used the WebGIS based software STOFFBILANZ to simulate runoff, soil loss, sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen input in the surface water and groundwater of study area (ca. 6,450 km²). The simulated runoff shows a large regional variability caused by the heterogeneous distribution of rainfall. For the reference catchment Klein River simulated total daily runoff fit the observed values of the reference year 2012. The calculation of potential input of sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen into waters is based on aggregated or generalized information on climate data, land use types, crop and fruit types, yields, mineral fertilizers, farm manure, nitrogen fixing by leguminous plants, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and soil denitrification. Critical source areas for potential sediment input, particulate P input and diffuse N input are mainly agricultural areas. Additionally, point sources of high relevance for N and P are found in urban areas. Based on the potential input of sediment and nutrients the impacts of current land use change on water resources were estimated. We used the web-based information system WebLand for the simulation aiming at the provision of stakeholders with information for decision making in water resource management.
Smallholder agricultural production is largely affected by climate change and variability. Despite the negative effects brought by climate variability, smallholder farmers are still able to derive livelihoods. An understanding of factors that influence farmers’ responses and adaptation to climate variability can improve decision making for governments and development partners. This study investigated farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change and how these influence adaptation policies at local level. A survey was conducted with 100 households randomly selected from Chiredzi district. Data collected was used to derive farmer perceptions to climate change as well as the influence of their perceptions and subsequent adaptation methods to ensuing local agricultural adaptation measures and policies. The results indicated that smallholder farmers perceived general reduction in long-term annual rainfall and rising local average temperatures. Adverse trends in rainfall and average temperature perceived by farmers were consistent with empirical data. These perceptions and other socio-economic factors helped to shape smallholder farmer agricultural adaptation strategies. Policy implications are that the government and development partners should seek ways to assist autonomous adaptations by farmers through investments in planned adaptation initiatives.
In the beginning of 2015, the Regional Administration of Galicia (NW Spain) set the requirements for a map of landscape units: it had to be produced in less than 3 months, it should cover the whole territory of the region (29,574 km²), and it should be useful for management at a scale of 1:25,000. With these objectives in mind, we pro- posed a semiautomatic mapping methodology entirely based on the use of free software (GRASS GIS) and already available cartographic information. Semi-automatic classification of different land-use patterns was at the heart of the proposed process. Consultation with experts of different academic background took place along the project. This consultation process allowed to identify both problems and opportunities. As it could be expected, the diverse epistemic community represented by the expert panel implied that one of the main challenges was to reach consensus on the understanding of the concept of landscape and the decisions leading to the mapping methodology proposed in this paper. This initiated a very interesting debate that, in our view, was centred around three main issues: the approach to the landscape, the purpose of the mapping exercise, and the ability to include subjectivity into the analysis.
Coefficient-based, bottom-up material flow analysis is a suitable tool to quantify inflows, outflows and stock dynamics of materials used by societies, and thus can deliver strategic knowledge needed to develop circular economy policies. Anthropogenic stocks and flows are mostly of bulk nonmetallic mineral materials related to the construction, operation and demolition of buildings and infrastructures. Consequently, it is important to be able to quantify circulating construction materials to help estimate the mass of secondary materials which can be recovered such as recycled aggregates (RA) for fresh concrete in new buildings. Yet as such bulk materials are high volume but of low unit value, they are generally produced and consumed within a region. Loops are thus bounded not only by qualitative and technical restrictions but also spatially to within regions. This paper presents a regionalized continuous MFA (C-MFA) approach taking account of these restrictions of local consumption, quality standards and technical limitations, illustrated using the example of Germany. Outflows and inflows of stocks are quantified at county level and generalized by regional type, considering demand and supply for recycled materials. Qualitative and technical potentials of recycling loops are operationalized by defining coefficients to reflect waste management technologies and engineering standards. Results show that 48% of outflows of concrete and bricks are suitable for high-quality recycling, while 52% of outflows do not fulfill the quality requirement and must be recovered or disposed of elsewhere. The achievable inflow to RA is limited by the building activity as well as the requirements of the construction industry, e.g. the RA fraction of fresh concrete must not exceed 32%. In addition, there exist spatial disparities in construction across the country. In Germany, such disparities mean that there will be a shortfall in RA of 6.3 Gt by the year 2020, while the technically available but unusable RA (due to a regional mismatch of potential supply and demand) will total 3.2 Gt. Comprehensive recycling strategies have to combine high-quality recycling with other lower-grade applications for secondary raw materials. Particularly in the case of building materials, essential constraints are not only technical but also local conditions of construction and demolition. These interrelations should be identified and integrated into a comprehensive system to manage the social metabolism of materials in support of circular economy policies.
AbstractThe lemon houses of Lake Garda provide Ecosystem Services, due to their history and their deep rooting in the landscape. Unfortunately, Urban Planning hasn’t ever taken into account these possible benefits. In fact, it has always allowed their reuse as residences and it has sustained the conservation of the buildings only. The lack of interest in reintroducing lemon growing or other agricultural activities has produced a noticeable impoverishment of the local landscape. To overcome these limits, Urban Planning should be oriented to implement practices, which take root in and bring out the variety of local landscapes. In order to reach this result, Urban Planning may help to bring some lemon houses, especially the abandoned or the most vulnerable ones, back to their original agricultural vocation, reintroducing autopoietic agricultural techniques, which are in balance with the environment. An interdisciplinary approach may be adopted in a profitable way, to strengthen the efficiency of the Urban Planning. Aiming at this interdisciplinary approach the paper reports our first investigations concerning the contribution of different disciplines, which will help Urban Planning to consider, in case of the reuse of Lake Garda lemon houses, immaterial benefits and to reintroduce activities linked to their original vocation.
To sustain cultural ecosystem services and cultural heritage it is important to go in depth in the science policy interface, because efficient governance mechanisms emerge from the cooperation of scientists and practitioners. In the Basque Country, we are on the road towards adaptive and resilient landscape management through an integrative approach that enhances the link between science, policy-making and society. Key elements of this approach are: The establishment from the outset of a transdisciplinar community of practice; the creation of specific transdisciplinar working groups to go in depth with concrete applicability measures; a strong outreach strategy and educational programs development; and last but not least, the involvement of stakeholders at multiple stage of the process. Diverse research lines are carried out during the process (e.g. mapping ecosystems services, analyzing social perceptions), whose results are combined to help identify response options for sustainable landscape. Relevant policy implementations of the results of this broad research are already taking place in the Basque Country. The proved utility of this working mechanism makes key agents to continue involved, and to attract more agents into the process. These transdisciplinary processes facilitate the creation of synergies and win-win solutions towards sustainable management of cultural ecosystem services.
Landscapes can be understood as socialecological systems under constant change. In Europe various territorial dynamics pose persistent challenges to maintaining diverse landscapes both as European heritage and in their capacity to provide vital functions and services. Concurrently, under the competence of cohesion policy, the EU is attempting to improve policy making by better policy coordination and respecting regional specifics. This paper explores the question how a policy dedicated to landscape can help to handle territorial change and support territorial cohesion. It presents results and performances of the ESPON applied research study LP3LP: (1) a common landscape policy for the Three Countries Park, across the Dutch, German and Belgium borders, including a spatial landscape vision, a governance proposal of adaptive landscape management, and thematic strategies dealing with green infrastructure, cultural heritage, complementary biomass and quality production; (2) recommendations at the EU level. In discussing the significance of a landscape approach for EU policy,three dimensions of landscape are linked withimportant aspects of territorial cohesion: ‘landscape as asset’ addressing natural-cultural territorial capital as an indigenous base forsmart, sustainable, and inclusivedevelopment;‘landscape as place’ stressing the relevance of landscape for place-based policies; and ‘landscape as common ground’ highlighting its potential for horizontal, vertical, and territorial integration.
Indigenous knowledge has for generations assisted rural subsistence farming communities adapt to climate change and make daily decisions regarding agriculture. This study was conducted in the rural community of Swayimane, uMshwathi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The main objective of the research was to determine the indigenous indicators used by rural farmers, identify the means through which seasonal climate information is disseminated and assess the strengths and weaknesses of indigenous and scientific knowledge. The other objective of the research was to evaluate the integration of indigenous and scientific weather forecasting. The research used 100 questionnaires which were administered to the subsistence farmers of the community. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with small groups of individuals. Results showed that majority of the indigenous indicators related to rainfall and seasonal predictions. Also, seasonal scientific climate information was mainly disseminated via television and radio. Local farmers highlighted that indigenous knowledge was essential in predicting seasonal changes and rainfall and scientific knowledge was not trusted. Indigenous knowledge is transmitted by oral tradition, from generation to generation and mainly among the elderly, and, thinly, to the younger generation. Scientific information was thought to be too technical and difficult to comprehend. It can be concluded that subsistence farmers were open to the integration of scientific and indigenous weather forecasting. They highlighted that it would improve decision making concerning their agricultural activities.
This communication paper investigates requirements for cross-border spatial planning technologies. We refer to European cross-border regions, which are located in the European Baltic Sea Region. We hypothesize that there is no efficient cross-border spatial planning without engagement from various stakeholders, supported by novel spatial planning technologies. This study presents the results from a survey that identifies the requirements for spatial planning technologies adequate for cross - border regions. On the basis of this survey, carried out within the INTECRE project partners coming from the Baltic Sea Region, the study provides general recommendations about cross - border spatial planning technologies. Addressed in the survey are the following central issues: definition of the scope of such technologies, the data base and international planning data provision, features and properties of planning technologies, and stakeholder involvement. The research findings are transferable to wider European and extra- European contexts.
This paper examines linkages between climate change and rural out-migration in Himalaya. Subsistence agriculture constitutes the main source of food and rural livelihoods in the region although the availability of arable land is severely limited and crop productivity is low. The constraints of the subsistence economy compel a large proportion of the adult male population to outmigrate from the mountain region in search of livelihoods and employment. Changing climatic conditions have stressed Himalayan agricultural and livelihood systems through higher mean annual temperatures and melting of glaciers and snow, altered precipitation patterns and hydrological disruptions, and more frequent and severe extreme weather events. The amount of rainfall events and number of rainy days has declined respectively by 52% and 34% during the last ten years and the incidence of high intensity rainfall and droughts have increased. These changes have disrupted the hydrological systems and reduced the availability of water resulting in frequent crop failures, declines in irrigation potential (25%), decreased agricultural productivity (26%), and loss of rural livelihoods (34%) in traditional rural sectors. These pressures have contributed to increasing trends of rural out-migration, specifically an overall increase of 2536% between 2001 and 2013. The increasing trend of outmigration among male youth has affected the quality of life of rural women through feminization of mountain agriculture and resource development processes.
