Water Infrastructures Facing Sustainable Development Challenges: Integrated Evaluation of Impacts of Dams on Regional Development in Morocco

During the past century, large hydraulic infrastructures have been considered as the most effective tools for increasing water supply and rationalise water management. According to this approach, large infrastructures are seen as catalysts for territorial development and economic progress. More recently, international surveys of results of water supply policies and performances of large dams, show that these structures need to be integrated in more comprehensive Integrated Water Resource Management strategies at catchments’ scale, to promote equitable and sustainable regional development. The aim of this communication is to present the role of large hydraulic infrastructures within the regional development dynamics with particular attention to the Sebou basin in Morocco, in order to assess some relevant impacts on local communities and their ecosystems. The Sebou region is one of the most important basins in Morocco, in the context of the national strategies and policies of management of water resources, established by the Water Law of 1995. The development of hydraulic infrastructures in the Sebou Basin begun in 1935, with construction of a complex of ten large dams and nine small dams, to provide water for agriculture, domestic and industrial use, and to generate hydropower and control floods, in line with the national water policies that, from the 1960s onwards, looked at large dams as core infrastructures for regional development. A critical view will be given about the coherence of this strategy with the sustainability principles.Water Policy, Morocco, Dams, Sustainable Development, Impacts

Gestione idrica e trasformazioni territoriali nella piana del gharb (Marocco)

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Geografia e cooperazione: i progetti di sviluppo rurale della cooperazione italiana in Bosnia Erzegovina

The research starts from the assumption that the Bosnian War (1992-1995) can be interpreted as an event of de-territorialization, which entailed both material and immaterial changes in the territory of this country. After the conflict, the international cooperation has acted as an external actor in the reconstruction process of this territory. The thesis focuses in particular on the role played in this process by the rural development projects which have been carried out by Italian NGOs with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ funding. In the first part the theoretical framework of the research is illustrated, including both the strictly geographical theories and the ones concerning the concepts of development and international cooperation. Then the story of these concepts is delineated and some critical elements are underlined. In the third chapter the relationship between geography and cooperation is deepened, making reference to some fundamental authors which has studied this theme; finally, the research questions are defined. Therefore the thesis intends to move within the framework of both a geography of cooperation and a geography for cooperation. In the second part the model adopted for the analysis is described, as well as some methodological aspects and the study cases chosen for the survey, which will be precisely illustrated in the Attachment n. 1.In the third part the temporal and spatial background of the research are illustrated, describing first of all the physical geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The history of this country is developed focusing above all on some issues which are useful in order to understand the construction process of this territory over the time, paying particular attention to the rural context. Finally, in the eighth chapter the territorial outcomes of the war and the current situation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are explained; the specific territories involved in the analysed projects are described, too. The fourth part is dedicated to the analysis of both the context actors (European Union, State, Entities, UTL – Local Technical Unit of Italian Cooperation) and the specific projects. The involved external and internal actors are identified, as well as their logic, strategies, systems of action and also the territorial outcomes of each intervention. Starting from this analysis, in the fifth part we propose some considerations concerning both the role of Italian NGOs in the reconstruction process of the Bosnian rural territory and the relationship between geography and international cooperation.La ricerca nasce dal presupposto che la guerra in Bosnia Erzegovina (1992-1995) possa essere letta come evento deterritorializzante, che ha comportato una modificazione sia materiale che immateriale del territorio del Paese. La cooperazione internazionale allo sviluppo è successivamente intervenuta come attore esterno nel processo di ricostruzione di questo territorio. La tesi si concentra particolarmente sul ruolo in questo processo dei progetti di sviluppo rurale, realizzati da ONG italiane con il finanziamento del Ministero Affari Esteri italiano. Nella prima parte viene quindi descritto il quadro teorico di riferimento, prima di tutto quello strettamente geografico, e poi quello relativo ai concetti di sviluppo e di cooperazione internazionale. Viene quindi delineata la storia di questi concetti e messi in luce alcuni elementi critici. Nel Cap. 3, invece, si approfondisce il tema dei rapporti tra geografia e cooperazione internazionale, riprendendo alcuni autori fondamentali che si sono occupati della questione, per giungere poi alla definizione delle domande di ricerca. La tesi si muoverà quindi nel quadro di una geografia della cooperazione e di una geografia per la cooperazione. Nella seconda parte vengono descritti il modello analitico adottato, alcuni aspetti metodologici e i casi di studio scelti per l’indagine, che verranno poi dettagliati nell’Allegato 1. Nella terza parte verrà quindi fornito il quadro temporale e spaziale della problematica, descrivendo innanzitutto le caratteristiche fisiche della Bosnia Erzegovina. La storia del Paese verrà sviluppata concentrandosi soprattutto su alcune questioni utili a comprendere come il territorio si sia costruito nel tempo, con particolare attenzione a quello rurale. Il Cap. 8, infine, tratterà degli esiti territoriali del conflitto e della situazione della Bosnia Erzegovina oggi. Verranno quindi descritti i territori specifici in cui si inseriscono i progetti analizzati. La quarta parte della tesi è dedicata all’analisi, prima degli attori di contesto (Unione Europea, Stato, Entità, UTL) e poi dei singoli progetti. Verranno individuati gli attori, esterni ed interni, coinvolti, le loro logiche, le strategie, i sistemi di azione e gli esiti territoriali di ciascun intervento. A partire da questa analisi, nella quinta parte si proporranno alcune considerazioni relative al ruolo delle ONG italiane nella ricostruzione del territorio rurale bosniaco e al rapporto tra geografia e cooperazione allo sviluppo

Workshop report : the Tagliamento river basin : don't divorce the river from its basin

The Tagliamento River basin is characterized by a precarious equilibrium between its peculiar natural conditions and the human needs. The \u201cTagliamento River\u201d working group at the \u201c12th European Seminar on Geography of Water\u201d has described the different conflicts concerning the basin, to try to point out some suggestions to improve its management

Water Infrastructures Facing Sustainable Development Challenges: Integrated Evaluation of Impacts of Dams on Regional Development in Morocco

During the past century, large hydraulic infrastructures have been considered as the most effective tools for increasing water supply and rationalise water management. According to this approach, large infrastructures are seen as catalysts for territorial development and economic progress. More recently, international surveys of results of water supply policies and performances of large dams, show that these structures need to be integrated in more comprehensive Integrated Water Resource Management strategies at catchments' scale, to promote equitable and sustainable regional development. The aim of this communication is to present the role of large hydraulic infrastructures within the regional development dynamics with particular attention to the Sebou basin in Morocco, in order to assess some relevant impacts on local communities and their ecosystems. The Sebou region is one of the most important basins in Morocco, in the context of the national strategies and policies of management of water resources, established by the Water Law of 1995. The development of hydraulic infrastructures in the Sebou Basin begun in 1935, with construction of a complex of ten large dams and nine small dams, to provide water for agriculture, domestic and industrial use, and to generate hydropower and control floods, in line with the national water policies that, from the 1960s onwards, looked at large dams as core infrastructures for regional development. A critical view will be given about the coherence of this strategy with the sustainability principles

Performance Assessment of New Multiplex Probe Assay for Identification of Mycobacteria

A new DNA probe assay (INNO LiPA Mycobacteria; Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium) for the simultaneous identification, by means of reverse hybridization and line-probe technology, of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium xenopi, Mycobacterium gordonae, the species of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), Mycobacterium scrofulaceum, and Mycobacterium chelonae was evaluated on a panel of 238 strains including, besides representatives of all the taxa identifiable by the system, a number of other mycobacteria, some of which are known to be problematic with the only other commercial DNA probe system (AccuProbe; Gen-Probe, San Diego, Calif.), and two nocardiae. The new kit, which includes a control probe reacting with the whole genus Mycobacterium, correctly identified 99.6% of the strains tested; the one discrepancy, which remained unresolved, concerned an isolate identified as MAC intermediate by INNO LiPA Mycobacteria and as Mycobacterium intracellulare by AccuProbe. In five cases, because of an imperfect checking of hybridization temperature, a very slight, nonspecific, line was visible which was no longer evident when the test was repeated. Two strains whose DNA failed amplification at the first attempt were regularly identified when the test was repeated. Interestingly, the novel kit dodged all the pitfalls presented by the strains giving anomalous reactions with AccuProbe. A unique feature of INNO LiPA Mycobacteria is its ability to recognize different subgroups within the species M. kansasii and M. chelonae, while the declared overlapping reactivity of probe 4 with some M. kansasii and Mycobacterium gastri organisms and of probe 9 with MAC, Mycobacterium haemophilum, and Mycobacterium malmoense, may furnish a useful aid for their identification. The turnaround time of the method is approximately 6 h, including a preliminary PCR amplification