Development of a composite drought indicator for operational drought monitoring in the MENA region

This paper presents the composite drought indicator (CDI) that Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian government agencies now produce monthly to support operational drought management decision making, and it describes their iterative co-development processes. The CDI is primarily intended to monitor agricultural and ecological drought on a seasonal time scale. It uses remote sensing and modelled data inputs, and it reflects anomalies in precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. Following quantitative and qualitative validation assessments, engagements with policymakers, and consideration of agencies’ technical and institutional capabilities and constraints, we made changes to CDI input data, modelling procedures, and integration to tailor the system for each national context. We summarize validation results, drought modelling challenges and how we overcame them through CDI improvements, and we describe the monthly CDI production process and outputs. Finally, we synthesize procedural and technical aspects of CDI development and reflect on the constraints we faced as well as trade-offs made to optimize the CDI for operational monitoring to support policy decision-making—including aspects of salience, credibility, and legitimacy—within each national context

Associer des variétés pour maîtriser les maladies et stabiliser la production

L'association variétale - c'est-à-dire l'association de différentes variétés d'une même espèce simultanément au sein d'une parcelle agricole - offre la possibilité de diversifier les traits de résistance aux maladies fongiques et les caractéristiques agronomiques des plantes. Bien conçues, les associations variétales permettent ainsi de mieux maîtriser les maladies et de stabiliser la quantité et la qualité de la production. Les résultats expérimentaux montrent que l'efficacité réelle des associations dépend fortement de certains facteurs clés tels que les conditions climatiques, la pression de maladies et le mode de dispersion des maladies. L'utilisation conjointe des expérimentations au champ et de la modélisation permet d'appréhender leur fonctionnement, et notamment les détails des mécanismes impliqués. L'optimisation de la conception des associations (nombre de variétés, choix des variétés selon leurs gènes de résistance majeurs et quantitatifs et d’autres traits, proportions et agencement de ces variétés) doit tenir compte des attentes et de l'environnement de production

Between representation and simulation: a paradigm shift in contemporary architectural drawing

[EN] Contemporary architectural drawing has undergone a series of major transformations in both its methodologies as well as concepts since the introduction of the computer. Though continuous, this process has been directly tied to technological advances in each phase of the so-called digital revolution, the latest transformations of which are directly related to the progressively greater capacity for replicating reality in an increasingly hyperrealistic manner, as well as interface innovations that create immersive experiences nearly indiscernible from a direct sensory experience. The result is architectural drawing’s shift away from parameters based on the principles of representation, a concept upon which the trade’s theoretical concepts have been built, towards a graphical image based on the principles of what has come to be called simulation. A conceptual shift that profoundly transforms the theoretical principles of architectural design.[ES] El dibujo arquitectónico contemporáneo ha sido sometido a toda una serie de profundas transformaciones, tanto metodológicas como conceptuales, producto del impacto derivado de la introducción del ordenador. Este proceso, aunque continuo, ha ido directamente vinculado a los progresos tecnológicos propios de cada fase de la denominada revolución digital, cuyas últimas transformaciones están directamente relacionadas con la progresivamente mayor capacidad de replicar la realidad de una manera cada vez más hiperrealista, así como de nuevos modos de interacción que posibilitan una experiencia inmersiva, casi indiscernible de la experiencia sensorial directa. El resultado es el tránsito del dibujo arquitectónico desde unos parámetros basados en los principios de la representación, concepto sobre el que se ha construido la propia conceptualización teórica del área, hacia una imagen gráfica asentada sobre los principios de lo que se ha dado en llamar simulación. Un tránsito conceptual que transforma profundamente los propios principios teóricos del dibujo arquitectónico.Llopis Verdú, J. (2018). Entre representación y simulación. Un cambio de paradigma en el dibujo arquitectónico contemporáneo. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 23(34):180-193. doi:10.4995/ega.2018.10860180193233

Development of a composite drought indicator for operational drought monitoring in the MENA region

Abstract This paper presents the composite drought indicator (CDI) that Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian government agencies now produce monthly to support operational drought management decision making, and it describes their iterative co-development processes. The CDI is primarily intended to monitor agricultural and ecological drought on a seasonal time scale. It uses remote sensing and modelled data inputs, and it reflects anomalies in precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. Following quantitative and qualitative validation assessments, engagements with policymakers, and consideration of agencies’ technical and institutional capabilities and constraints, we made changes to CDI input data, modelling procedures, and integration to tailor the system for each national context. We summarize validation results, drought modelling challenges and how we overcame them through CDI improvements, and we describe the monthly CDI production process and outputs. Finally, we synthesize procedural and technical aspects of CDI development and reflect on the constraints we faced as well as trade-offs made to optimize the CDI for operational monitoring to support policy decision-making—including aspects of salience, credibility, and legitimacy—within each national context