21,902 research outputs found
Scenarios for Educational and Game Activities using Internet of Things Data
Raising awareness among young people and changing their behavior and habits concerning energy usage and the environment is key to achieving a sustainable planet. The goal to address the global climate problem requires informing the population on their roles in mitigation actions and adaptation of sustainable behaviors. Addressing climate change and achieve ambitious energy and climate targets requires a change in citizen behavior and consumption practices. IoT sensing and related scenario and practices, which address school children via discovery, gamification, and educational activities, are examined in this paper. Use of seawater sensors in STEM education, that has not previously been addressed, is included in these educational scenaria
Participatory Patterns in an International Air Quality Monitoring Initiative
The issue of sustainability is at the top of the political and societal
agenda, being considered of extreme importance and urgency. Human individual
action impacts the environment both locally (e.g., local air/water quality,
noise disturbance) and globally (e.g., climate change, resource use). Urban
environments represent a crucial example, with an increasing realization that
the most effective way of producing a change is involving the citizens
themselves in monitoring campaigns (a citizen science bottom-up approach). This
is possible by developing novel technologies and IT infrastructures enabling
large citizen participation. Here, in the wider framework of one of the first
such projects, we show results from an international competition where citizens
were involved in mobile air pollution monitoring using low cost sensing
devices, combined with a web-based game to monitor perceived levels of
pollution. Measures of shift in perceptions over the course of the campaign are
provided, together with insights into participatory patterns emerging from this
study. Interesting effects related to inertia and to direct involvement in
measurement activities rather than indirect information exposure are also
highlighted, indicating that direct involvement can enhance learning and
environmental awareness. In the future, this could result in better adoption of
policies towards decreasing pollution.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 supplementary fil
Raising awareness for water polution based on game activities using internet of things
Awareness among young people regarding the environment and its resources and comprehension of the various factors that interplay, is key to changing human behaviour towards achieving a sustainable planet. In this paper IoT equipment, utilizing sensors for measuring various parameters of water quality, is used in an educational context targeting at a deeper understanding of the use of natural resources towards the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviours. We here note that the use of water sensors in STEM gameful learning is an area which has not received a lot of attention in the previous years. The IoT water sensing and related scenaria and practices, addressing children via discovery, gamification, and educational activities, are discussed in detail
Pro-poor intervention strategies in irrigated agriculture in Asia: poverty in irrigated agriculture: issues and options: Indonesia
Irrigated farming / Poverty / Institutional development / Irrigation management / Colonialism / Policy / Privatization / Hydrology / Climate / Cropping systems / Soils / Participatory rural appraisal / Performance indexes / Crop production / Costs / Households / Income / Expenditure / Irrigation systems / Operations / Maintenance / Water users’ associations / Financing / Constraints / Indonesia
Climate risks in West Africa: Bobo-Dioulasso local actors’ participatory risks management framework
The paper focuses on the role of multilevel governance in climate change adaptation and risk management, and draws out lessons from the implementation of the UN Habitat Cities and Climate Change Initiatives (CCCI) in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. It describes the process for the formulation of a participatory risk management framework for local actors drawing from empirical investigations undertaken in Bobo-Dioulasso. The paper argues that adaptation needs to be mainstreamed and implemented at local level and to include risk management. Moreover, regulatory capacity of public authorities and balance of power and resources play a major role in this process. After presenting the specific knowledge on climate and environmental challenges and CCCI implementation in Bobo-Dioulasso, the paper describes challenges and opportunities in the implementation of the participatory risk and management framewor
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Technologies for climate change adaptation: agricultural sector
This Guidebook presents a selection of technologies for climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector. A set of twenty two adaptation technologies are showcased that are primarily based on the principals of agroecology, but also include scientific technologies of climate and biological sciences complemented with important sociological and institutional capacity building processes that are required to make adaptation function. The technologies cover monitoring and forecasting the climate, sustainable water use and management, soil management, sustainable crop management, seed conservation, sustainable forest management and sustainable livestock management.
Technologies that tend to homogenize the natural environment and agricultural production have low possibilities of success in conditions of environmental stress that are likely to result from climate change. On the other hand, technologies that allow for, and indeed promote, diversity are more likely to provide a strategy which strengthens agricultural production in the face of uncertain future climate change scenarios. In this sense, the twenty two technologies showcased in this Guidebook have been selected because they facilitate the conservation and restoration of diversity while at the same time providing opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity. Many of these technologies are not new to agricultural production practices, but they are implemented based on assessment of current and possible future impacts of climate change in a particular location. Agro-ecology is an approach that encompasses concepts of sustainable production and biodiversity promotion and therefore provides a useful framework for identifying and selecting appropriate adaptation technologies for the agricultural sector.
The Guidebook provides a systematic analysis of the most relevant information available on climate change adaptation technologies in the agriculture sector. It has been compiled based on a literature review of key publications, journal articles, and e-platforms, and by drawing on documented experiences sourced from a range of organizations working on projects and programmes concerned with climate change adaptation technologies in the agricultural sector. Its geographic scope is focused on developing countries where high levels of poverty, agricultural production, climate variability and biological diversity currently intersect.
Key concepts around climate change adaptation are not universally agreed. It is therefore important to understand local contexts – especially social and cultural norms - when working with national and sub-national stakeholders to make informed decisions about appropriate technology options. Thus, decision-making processes should be participative, facilitated, and consensus-building oriented and should be based on the following key guiding principles: increasing awareness and knowledge, strengthening institutions, protecting natural resources, providing financial assistance and developing context-specific strategies.
For decision-making the Community–Based Adaptation framework is proposed for creating inclusive governance that engages a range of stakeholders directly with local or district government and national coordinating bodies, and facilitates participatory planning, monitoring and implementation of adaptation activities. Seven criteria are suggested for the prioritization of adaptation technologies: (i) The extent to which the technology maintains or strengthens biological diversity and is environmentally sustainable; (ii) The extent to which the technology facilitates access to information systems and awareness of climate change information; (iii) Whether the technology support water, carbon and nutrient cycles and enables stable and/or increased productivity; (iv) Income-generating potential, cost-benefit analysis and contribution to improved equity; (v) Respect for cultural diversity and facilitation of inter-cultural exchange; (vi) Potential for integration into regional and national policies and can be scaled-up; (vii) The extent to which the technology builds formal and information institutions and social networks.
Finally, recommendations are set out for practitioners and policy makers:
• There is an urgent need for improved climate modelling and forecasting which can provide a basis for informed decision-making and the implementation of adaptation strategies. This should include traditional knowledge.
• Information is also required to better understand the behaviour of plants, animals, pests and diseases as they react to climate change.
• Potential changes in economic and social systems in the future under different climate scenarios should also be investigated so that the implications of adaptation strategy and planning choices are better understood.
• It is important to secure effective flows of information through appropriate dissemination channels. This is vital for building adaptive capacity and decision-making processes.
• Improved analysis of adaptation technologies is required to show how they can contribute to building adaptive capacity and resilience in the agricultural sector. This information needs to be compiled and disseminated for a range of stakeholders from local to national level.
• Relationships between policy makers, researchers and communities should be built so that technologies and planning processes are developed in partnership, responding to producers’ needs and integrating their knowledge
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