Global society faces the critical challenges of eradicating poverty, ensuring food security, and addressing environmental degradation. In this context, agricultural microbusinesses emerge as essential actors in productive dynamics, contributing significantly to food sovereignty and economic transformation. In Latin America, family farming supplies 53% of global food demand, accounts for 7.92% of GDP, and employs one-fifth of the economically active population. However, many microbusinesses operate empirically and face severe technical, infrastructural, and financial limitations. In Ecuador, private initiatives incorporate sustainable practices such as crop rotation, the use of organic inputs, the recovery of ancestral knowledge, and efficient community water management. However, these practices have not been systematically evaluated due to a lack of assessment instruments adapted to small-scale agricultural activities. This study aims to design a validation instrument with standardized sustainability indicators adapted to the local contexts of agricultural microbusinesses. The instrument goes beyond traditional environmental and economic metrics by integrating social and cultural dimensions that are essential for a comprehensive assessment of sustainability. The research employed the Framework for the Evaluation of Natural Resource Management Systems (MESMIS Framework) to design the ENMAG survey (Survey for Agricultural Microbusinesses). This framework defines seven sustainability dimensions: productivity, stability, reliability, resilience, adaptability, equity, and self-reliance, complemented by contributions from other internationally recognized methodologies, including IDEA4, SAFA, and RISE. The ENMAG survey is a semi-structured questionnaire comprising 56 questions across six dimensions and using multiple response categories. The instrument was validated through expert judgment and a pilot survey involving 122 microbusiness owners. Based on the collected data, six adjusted indicators were constructed and calculated to capture complex sustainability processes: Sustainable Economic Productivity (SEP), Climate Change Vulnerability (CCV), Pest Resilience (PR), Agricultural Innovation Capacity (AIC), Labor Quality (LQ), and Sustainable External Support (SES). The ENMAG survey provides a locally adapted, holistic assessment tool that requires the active participation of local stakeholders according to their territorial agricultural activities. The theoretical framework demonstrates clear contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting improved farmer incomes, employment generation, natural resource conservation, food security, gender equity, and collaborative networks. The validation results confirmed the instrument's comprehensibility and applicability, although its implementation requires participants with practical knowledge and experience in the agricultural sector. The research revealed that, although numerous sustainability assessment methodologies exist globally, most prioritize environmental and, to some extent, economic aspects while neglecting social and cultural dimensions, which are important for sustainable local development. This study addresses a gap in the literature on agricultural microbusinesses by providing the agricultural sector with a standardized and participatory tool for evaluating sustainable practices, facilitating evidence-based policy development, and supporting the transition from traditional to agroecological systems while preserving local cultural and socioeconomic principles.
his paper presents and discusses the most significant features of the Atlas de la desertificación de España (Atlas of Desertification in Spain), a work of outstanding scientific and practical value that comprehensively examines the main drivers of desertification processes. The authors of the Atlas demonstrate that desertification is far more complex than a simple consequence of aridity, soil erosion, or the associated degradation of vegetation cover. Nor can it be explained solely by human activities, although these play a decisive role in the deterioration of soil and water resources. Drawing upon the findings presented in the Atlas, this paper explores the remarkable complexity of desertification, a phenomenon that may lead to irreversible environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and a decline in the productive capacity of ecosystems. While the impacts of historical desertification can, to some extent, be mitigated, addressing contemporary desertification driven by the intensification of human activities is considerably more difficult and costly. Nevertheless, both proactive and restrictive management measures are urgently needed to prevent society from becoming trapped between the environmental legacies of the past and the increasing pressures exerted by national and international markets on water resources and land-use systems.
Climate change and increasing climatic variability have intensified droughts, rising temperatures, and rainfall uncertainty, placing growing pressure on water resources and spatial planning systems. In this context, governance structures play a central role in shaping how societies anticipate, respond to, and adapt to water scarcity. This study presents a qualitative comparative case analysis of drought governance in two climate-vulnerable regions: the lower Segura, Alicante basin (Spain) and the upper and middle Mira River basin (Ecuador–Colombia border). Although both regions experience recurrent water stress, they differ in institutional arrangements, governance capacities, and levels of stakeholder coordination. Using document-based qualitative analysis and interpretive comparison of policy and institutional frameworks, the study identifies structural and operational governance weaknesses conceptualized as systemic “glitches” that affect coordination, adaptive capacity, and participatory water management. Rather than measuring performance, the study focuses on how governance processes function in practice and how institutional configurations shape drought response. The analysis addresses three interconnected dimensions: (1) the structural factors shaping drought vulnerability, (2) the institutional configurations that condition climate risk governance, and (3) the governance patterns that influence adaptive capacity at the regional scale. The findings indicate that southern Alicante exhibits strong formal institutional capacity but limitations in operational coordination, while the Ecuadorian case shows more pronounced structural constraints affecting planning and implementation. By comparing these two governance contexts, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how institutional design and policy coherence influence drought management outcomes. The results highlight the importance of flexible, integrated, and multi-level governance systems for improving resilience in water-scarce regions.
Water soil erosion is a significant threat to agricultural sustainability and a key process of land degradation. Climate change is altering precipitation patterns and increasing rainfall erosivity globally, leading to more extreme hydrological conditions, yet many agriculturally significant regions lack detailed long-term analysis. This study addresses this gap by quantifying 90-year trends (1934–2023) in key precipitation metrics—total depth, number of rainy days, heavy rainfall (% of rainfall ≥ 50 mm), and rainfall erosivity (R-factor)—in a critical cropland region of Argentina. Analysis of daily data from the Paraná Agrometeorological Station revealed significant breakpoints in the 1970s. Post-breakpoint increases were observed for annual rainfall depth (+16% since 1975), rainy days (+19% since 1972), heavy rainfall events (+21% since 1971), and rainfall erosivity (+24% since 1977). On a monthly basis, March exhibited the highest erosivity. Despite a recent decrease in total monthly precipitation for March, its erosive potential appears to be sustained by a higher concentration of rainfall in intense events. Conversely, the period from May to September was characterized by lower and more stable erosivity values. Positives and significant correlations were established between the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), measured by the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), and all rainfall variables, with the strongest influence observed during the spring-summer seasons for rainfall depth (r= 0.24 to 0.51). Furthermore, the frequency of quarters classified as El Niño conditions has increased about 91% since the mid-1970s breakpoint. This study demonstrates a clear climatic shift towards conditions of higher precipitation and greater erosivity in the region. These findings underscore the urgent need for enhanced soil and water conservation policies to mitigate the increasing risk of land degradation.
El cambio climático está induciendo modificaciones en los patrones de distribución de especies en regiones biodiversas como el Chocó Biogeográfico Ecuatoriano. Este estudio identifica áreas prioritarias para la conservación de tres especies de aves clave (Cephalopterus penduliger, Morphnarchus princeps y Bangsia edwardsi) mediante modelado de nicho ecológico y superposición difusa. Se utilizó el software MaxEnt para proyectar la idoneidad del hábitat actual y futuro bajo el escenario SSP585 (2021 - 2040), integrando variables bioclimáticas, topográficas y registros de presencia. La validación mediante TSS y AUC indicó un desempeño robusto de los modelos. Los resultados proyectan respuestas heterogéneas ante el cambio climático: una contracción crítica del nicho para Cephalopterus penduliger (pérdida del 31,4 % de hábitat idóneo) y una reducción moderada para Morphnarchus princeps (-10,9 %), impulsadas por restricciones térmicas y topográficas. En contraste, Bangsia edwardsi mostró una expansión potencial del 16,6 % hacia zonas de mayor altitud. La superposición difusa (Fuzzy Gamma) destacó las estribaciones montañosas al este de la región (800-1.800 m a.s.l.) como refugios climáticos prioritarios. Se concluye que, si bien existen áreas de refugio, la viabilidad de estas especies dependerá de la protección de corredores altitudinales frente a la fragmentación del paisaje.
