Water, Land and Ecosystems - Journal Item

Special issue: Restoration for whom, by whom?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 12:40:10 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Subjects

Ecosystems
Gender
Policy

Languageen

Authors

Elias, M.
Joshi, Deepa
Meinzen-Dick, R.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) frames restoration as a momentous nature-based solution for achieving many of the ecological, economic, and social objectives outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, a critical void lies at the heart of this agenda: the lack of attention to social and political dimensions of nature and restoration initiatives. At this critical juncture, urgent attention is needed to the power and politics that shape the values, meanings, and science driving restoration; and to the uneven experiences of these processes as national restoration pledges touch down in diverse and unequal contexts. In this introduction to the special issue on “Restoration for Whom, by Whom?”, we critically examine the social inclusivity of restoration agendas, policies, and practices as these unfold across ecological and geographic scales. We argue that feminist political ecology (FPE), with its focus on gendered power relations, scale integration, and historical awareness, and its critique of the commodification of nature, offers a valuable lens through which to examine the socio-political and economic dynamics of restoration. Taking an FPE perspective, we elucidate how the ten papers comprising the special issue challenge mainstream narratives of environmental sustainability and suggest more grounded and nuanced ways forward for inclusive restoration initiatives. In conclusion, we highlight the urgency of addressing the systemic fault lines that create exclusions in restoration policies and practice; and the need to legitimize the plural voices, values, situated knowledges, and paths to sustainably transform degraded landscapes.

Citation

Elias, M.; Joshi, Deepa; Meinzen-Dick, R. 2021. Special issue: Restoration for whom, by whom? Ecological Restoration 39(1-2). https://er.uwpress.org/content/39/1-2.toc

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Open Access

Research Themes

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/117253

Solutions

Social equity

Biodiversity central to food security

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

DeClerck, Fabrice A.J.

Citation

DeClerck, F. (2016) Biodiversity central to food security. [correspondence]. Nature 531 p. 305 ISSN: 0028-0836

Accessibility

Limited Access

Research Themes

Restoring Degraded Landscapes

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/72854

A soil water and solute learning system for small-scale irrigators in Africa

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

Stirzaker, Richard
Mbakwe, Ikenna
Mziray, Nuru Ressa

Better yields of high-value crops are necessary for a profitable irrigation industry in sub-Saharan Africa. We introduced two simple tools, the Chameleon soil moisture sensor and the FullStop wetting front detector, which represent soil water, nitrate and salt levels in the soil by displaying different colours. These tools form the basis of an experiential learning system for small-scale irrigators. We found that farmers quickly learned from the tools and changed their management within a short time. The cost of implementing a learning system would be a small fraction of that of building or revitalizing irrigation schemes.

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Citation

Stirzaker, Richard; Mbakwe,Ikenna; Mziray, Nuru Ressa. 2017. A soil water and solute learning system for small-scale irrigators in Africa, International Journal of Water Resources Development, 33:5, 788-803, DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2017.1320981

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Open Access

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/96982

Modeling global water use for the 21st century: the Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative and its approaches

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Subjects

Water Availability
Water Balance
Water productivity
Water use

Languageen

Authors

Wada, Y.
Flörke, M.
Hanasaki, N.
Eisner, G.
Fischer, S.
Tramberend, Y.
Satoh, Y.
Vliet, M.T.H. van
Yillia, P.
Ringler, Claudia
Burek, P.
Wiberg, D.

To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years, and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity conditions already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of the world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative coordinates its work with other ongoing scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) and the representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The WFaS "fast-track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water–energy–climate nexus.

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Citation

Wada, Y., M. Flörke, N. Hanasaki, S. Eisner, G. Fischer, S. Tramberend, Y. Satoh, M.T.H. van Vliet, P. Yillia, C. Ringler, P. Burek, and D. Wiberg, 2016. Modeling global water use for the 21st century: the Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative and its approaches, Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 175-222, doi:10.5194/gmd-9-175-2016.

Accessibility

Open Access

Research Themes

Variability, Risks and Competing Uses

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/77127

Solutions

Productivity

Prioritizing Land and Water Interventions for Climate-Smart Villages

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

Alam, Mohammad Faiz
Sikka, Alok Kumar

Climate-smart villages mean implementing a portfolio of best locally suited climate-smart agricultural practices in an integrated manner to build resilience of the local community. Land and water interventions form a crucial part of a climate-smart agricultural practices portfolio, with water availability being the key limiting factor of crop growth. To aid in this decision-making process of prioritizing land and water interventions, a simple and robust spreadsheet tool based on a water balance is developed. The tool integrates and simulates impacts of land and water interventions on the water balance to determine their impact across climate-smart agricultural objectives of agricultural productivity, climate change adaptation and mitigation. The tool was implemented in two villages in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The tool performs well in simulating village water balance and its impact on the yield of rainfed and irrigated crop areas. Results show that considerable differences exist within the portfolio of land and water interventions, with only a combination of supply, demand and moisture conservation practices being able to help achieve climate-smart agricultural objectives. In the best case scenario, yield can be increased by up to 10% and greenhouse gas emission intensity reduced up to 17%. Comparison with stakeholder perception analysis highlights the utility of this tool in providing additional quantitative information in the decision-making process.

Citation

Alam MF, Sikka AK. 2019. Prioritizing Land and Water Interventions for Climate-Smart Villages. Irrigation and Drainage 68(4):714-728.

Accessibility

Limited Access

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103395

Sustainable groundwater development for improved livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Part 1

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

Pavelic, Paul
Villholth, Karen G.
Verma, Shilp

Citation

Pavelic, Paul; Villholth, Karen G.; Verma, Shilp. (Eds.) 2013. Sustainable groundwater development for improved livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Part 1. Water International, 38(4):363-503. (Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors).

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Limited Access

Research Themes

Variability, Risks and Competing Uses

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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39054

Sustainable groundwater development for improved livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Part 2

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

Pavelic, Paul
Villholth, Karen G.
Verma, Shilp

Citation

Pavelic, Paul; Villholth, Karen G.; Verma, Shilp. (Eds.) 2013. Sustainable groundwater development for improved livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Part 2. Water International, 38(6):790-863. (Special issue with contributions by IWMI authors).

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Limited Access

Research Themes

Variability, Risks and Competing Uses

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39055

Knowing where everyone is

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Subjects

Gender
Water use

Languageen

Authors

Nicol, Alan
Cordier, Sylvie
Clement, Floriane

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Citation

Nicol, Alan; Cordier, S.; Clement, Floriane. 2017. Knowing where everyone is. South Asian Water Studies 5(4):1-2.

Accessibility

Open Access

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/83100

Solutions

Social equity

Numerical experimentation to develop design and operational parameters for skimming wells: a case study of the Chaj Doab of Punjab, Pakistan

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

Aslam, Muhammad

In the present study, MODFLOW-MT3D groundwater model was employed to perform numerical experimentation to develop design and operational parameters for skimming wells based on hydrogeology and groundwater salinity conditions of Chaj Doab, Punjab, Pakistan. Numerical experimentation resulted in: (i) a 1-strainer SW (Skimming Wells) with discharge of 14 l/s (litres per second) and penetration of 30% resulted in more saltwater upconing at 8 hours/day well operation compared to that occurred at 4 hours/day operation; (ii) a 1-strainer well with penetration of 30% and operation of 8 hours/day caused higher saltwater upconing at 14 l/s discharge compared to that at 9 l/s discharge; (iii) a 4-strainer well with penetration of 30% and operation of 8 hours/day also caused more saltwater upconing at 14 l/s well discharge compared to that at 9 l/s discharge. Similar trend was found for a 8-strainer well; and (iv) 1- or 4- or 8-strainer well with 30-60% penetration, 9-14 l/s discharge and 4-8 hours/day operation could provide pumped groundwater of salinity less than 1000 ppm. Considering hydro-chemical performance and costs of wells, a 4-strainer well with 30% penetration, 9-14 l/s discharge and 4-8 hours/day operation is recommended to skim groundwater of salinity less than 1000 ppm in Chaj Doab of Punjab, Pakistan.

Citation

Aslam, Muhammad. 2015. Numerical experimentation to develop design and operational parameters for skimming wells: a case study of the Chaj Doab of Punjab, Pakistan. Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering & Technology, 34(3):273-282.

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Limited Access

Research Themes

Land and Water Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68433

Communal irrigation systems in South-Eastern Africa: findings on productivity and profitability

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

TypeJournal Item

Languageen

Authors

Pittock, Jamie
Bjornlund, Henning
Stirzaker, Richard
Rooyen, Andre F. van

Significant expansion of irrigated agriculture is planned in Africa, though existing smallholder schemes perform poorly. Research at six schemes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe shows that a range of problems are exacerbated by poor management, with limited market linkages leading to underutilization and a lack of profit. Improving sustainability of these complex systems will require: multiple interventions at different scales; investing in people and institutions as much as hardware; clarity in governments’ objectives for their smallholder irrigation schemes; appropriate business models to enable farmers; and better market linkages.

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Citation

Jamie Pittock, Henning Bjornlund, Richard Stirzaker & Andre van Rooyen. 2017. Communal irrigation systems in South-Eastern Africa: findings on productivity and profitability, International Journal of Water Resources Development, 33:5, 839-847, DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2017.1324768

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Open Access

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/96980