Participatory village surveys in water resources management - case from Tonle Sap Lake

Integrated water resources management asks for comprehensive approach combining hydrological data with environmental, economic and social information. Understanding the interconnections between water and social factors is prerequisite for sustainable and socially just water resources management. Still, in many water management projects this linkage remains inadequately understood and analysed. In addition, participation of local people is often lacking or, at best, forms only separate part of the project. This paper presents experiences from the participatory village surveys carried out in the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia within a consultancy project under the Mekong River Commission. The village surveys were together with socio-economic databases used to achieve up-to-date picture on the socio-economic situation in the Tonle Sap Area. Although participation of the local people in the project is still far from perfect, the village surveys illustrate how invaluable the local people’s participation and knowledge is and what kind of benefits it can bring

Kambodzan Tonle Sap-järven sosioekonominen tutkimus

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli muodostaa realistinen ja ajanmukainen kuva Kambodzan Tonle Sap-järveä ympäröivän alueen sosioekonomisesta tilanteesta. Tämän lisäksi tutkimuksen tulosten tuli olla helposti yhdistettävissä Tonle Sap-järveen ja sen ainutlaatuisiin tulviin sekä järvestä luotuun hydrologiseen malliin. Tulosten yhdistäminen järveen ja sen hydrologiseen malliin vaati uudenlaisen lähestymistavan luomista. Tässä lähestymistavassa kylätason sosioekonomista dataa kerättiin useilla eri tavoilla muun muassa tietokannoista, osallistavista kylätutkimuksista ja kirjallisuuslähteistä. Tietokannat ja kylätutkimukset muodostivat tutkimuksen tärkeimmät tietolähteet. Tämän jälkeen sosioekonominen data analysoitiin kylien topografisen sijainnin eli korkeusaseman perusteella. Tutkimusalue jaettiin viiteen vyöhykkeeseen, joista neljä perustui kylien topografiseen sijaintiin. Viides vyöhyke muodostui kaupunkialueista. Tietokantojen analysoinnin tärkein tavoite oli luoda GIS-pohjainen sosioekonominen tietokanta, jossa olemassa olevan kvantitatiivisen datan analysointi oli mahdollista luotujen vyöhykkeiden - perusteella. Osallistavat kylätutkimukset puolestaan mahdollistivat ajankohtaisen kvalitatiivisen datan keräämisen ja paransivat paikallisten asukkaiden osallistumista. Tutkimuksen lopuksi eri, tietolähteistä kerätty sosioekonominen data analysoitiin topografian perusteella. Tällainen topografisiin vyöhykkeisiin perustuva analyysi tarjosi yksinkertaisen mutta kattavan tavan ymmärtää sosioekonomisten muuttujien ja järven ja sen tulvien välisiä kytköksiä. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että vaikka kyläläisten pääelinkeino on melko yhtenäinen jokaisella maaseutuvyöhykkeillä, yksittäisten perheiden toimeentulo riippuu useasta eri elinkeinosta. Suurin osa näistä elinkeinoista on riippuvaisia alueen yhteisistä luonnonvaroista, mukaan lukien Tonle Sap-järvi ja alueen muut vesistöt. Lähimpänä järveä asuvat kyläläiset ovat myös monella tapaa huonommassa asemassa kuin ylemmillä alueille asuvat. Suurin osa näistä kyläläisistä asuu kelluvissa kylissä ja heidän toimeentulonsa riippuu pelkästään kalastuksesta ja siihen liittyvistä elinkeinoista. Ylemmillä vyöhykkeillä asuvien toimeentulo on puolestaan riippuvainen lähinnä riisinviljelystä. Järven ja sen tulvien merkitys on kuitenkin merkittävä etenkin kelluvan ja tulvan laskuveteen viljeltävän riisin viljelyssä. Kaupunkialueilla riippuvuus luonnonvaroista on merkittävästi pienempi ja elinkeinorakenne täysin erilainen: pääelinkeinojen kirjo on huomattavasti suurempi ja toisaalta osa-aikaisten elinkeinojen merkitys pienempi kuin maaseudulla. Alueen laajamittainen köyhyys ja merkittävä riippuvuus luonnonvaroista on erityisen huolestuttavaa, koska alueen luonnonvarat ovat selvästi ja nopeasti ehtymässä. Suurin syy tähän ehtymiseen on luonnonvarojen ylikäyttö. Luonnonvarojen ehtyminen ja nopea väestönkasvu ovat jo nyt aiheuttaneet elintason laskua koko Tonle Sap-järven alueella. Ilman järkevää ja kokonaisvaltaista luonnonvarojen käytön hallintaa tämä elintason lasku uhkaa vain nopeutua

Bringing back the common sense? : integrated approaches in water management : lessons learnt from the Mekong

Water management is changing: the narrowly defined management practices that have for long been dominating are being replaced by more comprehensive approaches. Integrated approaches -including the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)- represent the forerunners of this change, and they are thus loaded with expectations. The reality is, however, more complicated, with many of the integrated processes failing to live up to their promises. This Thesis looks at integrated approaches used in water management and impact assessment, with a focus on the transboundary Mekong River Basin and the related Tonle Sap Lake area in Cambodia. The seven appended articles discuss an array of water management and assessment contexts in the region, sharing practical experiences on the use of integrated approaches. The synthesis places the current integrationist drive into the broader context through an analysis of the development of integrated approaches as well as through a review of multi-disciplinary research approaches. Despite their emphasis on integration between different sectors and disciplines, integrated water management approaches are found to have surprisingly weak linkages with similar approaches in the other fields. In terms of the actual implementation of integrated water management, the Thesis recognises six key elements to be particularly critical: Comprehensiveness, Institutions, Politics, Methods, Team and Inclusiveness. Experiences from the Mekong on all these elements are summarised, and their significance and contribution to the practices of integrated water management is described. The Thesis concludes by noting that while the current integrated water management practices are often strong on practical integration methods, they at the same time partly neglect the broader philosophical and contextual aspects related to integration. Yet, since integrated management always involves a range of actors with their intricate interconnections, integration is not just a mechanical procedure, but very much a personal and political issue as well. What really matters are therefore not only the technical methods for integration, but also the ways the management and research teams in specific management contexts communicate, collaborate and interact with their various stakeholders as well as -an issue that is frequently forgotten- internally within their teams

The Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia : Water-related conflicts with abundance of water

By examining diverse water-related tension and conflict situations from the Tonle Sap area of Cambodia, the article seeks to contest the view that water-related conflicts are always about water scarcity. Tackling different dimensions of water-related conflicts, the three cases studied here all point to the importance of social, political, and historical aspects in water-related resource management. They also indicate that the water and resource conflicts in Tonle Sap are strongly related to problems with existing property and access rights. Challenges of access to and control over resources, rather than changes in the abundance of water and related resources, have lead to increasing tensions in the area.Peer reviewe

Size-selected agglomerates of SnO₂ nanoparticles as gas sensors

The effect of nanoparticle structure on gas sensing performance is investigated. Size-selected nanostructured SnO₂ agglomerate particles for gas sensors were made by scalable flame spray pyrolysis. These particles were polydisperse (up to 12μm in diameter) and consisted of primary particles of 10nm in grain and crystal size as measured by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Berner low pressure impactor (BLPI). The effect of agglomerate size on thermal stability and sensing of ethanol vapor (4–100ppm) and CO (4–50ppm) was investigated by selecting nearly monodisperse fractions of these agglomerates by the BLPI. Sensor layers made with these size-fractionated agglomerates exhibited higher thermal stability and dramatically enhanced sensitivity for both analytes than layers made with polydisperse agglomerates. This is attributed to their aggregate (or hard agglomerate) structure exhibiting small sinter necks between their constituent primary particles of tin dioxide that had also a narrow size distribution as expected for particles generated in flames. Upon further sintering of these optimally sized, nanostructured agglomerates, grain and neck growth degraded their superior sensitivity, supporting the proposed mechanism of their enhanced sensitivity: optimal primary particle necking.Financial support was provided by ETH Zurich FEL-04 08-3, Finnish Academy, Tekes The Finnish National Technology Agency, and Nanoprim

To Withdraw, Investigate, Negotiate Or Integrate? Students\u27 Coping Strategies With Disorienting Dilemmas In Interdisciplinary Project Courses

In today's rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world, engineering educators are required to implement active pedagogical approaches to support students' interdisciplinary problem-solving processes. However, interdisciplinary and experiential learning may evoke situations where students question their past learnings and even existing values, beliefs, or assumptions. Our study examined the emergence of “disorienting dilemmas”, a central concept to transformative learning theory, and students' experiences in coping with them in engineering education. We interviewed ten students from two interdisciplinary project courses at School of Engineering in Aalto University, Finland, and conducted thematic analysis to identify the types of disorienting dilemmas and the coping strategies that students employed. Our study found that students experienced disorienting dilemmas related to self-beliefs, approaches to real-world challenges, teamwork, and disciplinary differences. To cope with these dilemmas, we identified four key strategies that reflected different levels of cognitive-behavioral responses: withdrawing, investigating, negotiating, and integrating. Our study contributes to transformative learning theory by extending the understanding of disorienting dilemmas in the context of interdisciplinary project-based education. We also provide practical implications for engineering educators seeking to develop students' competencies to effectively address complex challenges in working life. Effective interventions, such as critical reflection, open discussion, and resolving conflicting perspectives, can help students navigate disorienting dilemmas and enhance their interdisciplinary and transformative learning. Future research can explore how students' team characteristics may affect the emergence of coping strategies identified, as well as investigate the impact of scaffolding on students' learning outcomes.Peer reviewe

A framework for assessing water security and the water-energy-food nexus : The case of Finland

Water security demands guaranteeing economic, social and environmental sustainability and simultaneously addressing the diversity of risks and threats related to water. Various frameworks have been suggested to support water security assessment. They are typically based on indexes enabling national comparisons; these may, however, oversimplify complex and often contested water issues. We developed a structured and systemic way to assess water security and its future trends via a participatory process. The framework establishes a criteria hierarchy for water security, consisting of four main themes: the state of the water environment; human health and well-being; the sustainability of livelihoods; and the stability, functions and responsibility of society. The framework further enables the analysis of relationships between the water security criteria as well as between water, energy and food security. The framework was applied to a national water security assessment of Finland in 2018 and 2030. Our experience indicates that using the framework collaboratively with stakeholders provides a meaningful way to improve understanding and to facilitate discussion about the state of water security and the actions needed for its improvement

Can there be water scarcity with abundance of water? : Analyzing water stress during a severe drought in Finland

Severe droughts can affect water security even in countries with ample water resources. In addition, droughts are estimated to become more frequent in several regions due to changing climate. Drought affects many socio-economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, water supply, and industry), as it did in 2018 in Finland. Understanding the basin-wide picture is crucial in drought management planning. To identify vulnerable and water stressed areas in Finland, a water use-to-availability analysis was executed with a reference drought. Water stress was analyzed with the Water Depletion Index WDI. The analysis was executed using national water permits and databases. To represent a severe but realistic drought event, we modelled discharges and runoffs from the worst drought of the last century in Finland (1939–1942). The potential for performing similar analyses in data scarce contexts was also tested using estimates from global models as a screening tool. The results show that the South and Southwest of Finland would have problems with water availability during a severe drought. The most vulnerable areas would benefit from drought mitigation measures and management plans. These measures could be incorporated into the EU River Basin Management Plans

Promoting Development in Shared River Basins : Case Studies from International Experience

Transboundary freshwater systems create inevitable linkages and interdependencies between countries. The use of shared water resources by one country will, in most cases, impact other countries sharing the same system. At the same time, coordination among countries in the development of transboundary basins can yield greater benefits than would be available to individual countries pursuing individual development. UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 Target 5 recognizes this potential, calling on the world community to implement integrated water resources management at all levels, ‘including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate’. With a growing number of basins in which water use and demand permanently or temporarily exceeds the amount of renewable water available, and uncertainty from climate change, SDG Target 6.5 becomes increasingly relevant to development interventions designed to secure availability of supplies and create resilience. This is a companion document to the study "Promoting Development in Shared River Basins: Tools for Enhancing Transboundary Basin Management," which aims to contribute to relevant knowledge for achieving SDG Target 6.5. It presents six case studies from international experience on coordinated management in transboundary basins: Kura-Araks Basin; Columbia Basin; Chu and Talas Basins; Vuoksi Basin; Douro Basin; and Rhône Basin. The case studies demonstrate real-world application of selecting appropriate tools for individual transboundary situations along a three-stage process of coordinated basin development, which is detailed in the main study