Using agent-based modeling to depict basin closure in the Naivasha basin, Kenya: a framework of analysis

A spatially-explicit agent-based modeling (ABM) approach is applied for depicting the processes leading to basin closure in the Naivasha basin by representing interdependencies between water availability and water use. Modeling the dynamics of water use and water availability yields patterns of their distribution over space and time. The approach allows for exploring the potential effectiveness of governance alternatives such as payment for environmental services (PES) schemes. This study shows that ABM is a promising approach for supporting water governance and can assist in increasing the understanding of the occurrence of basin closure

Distribución de las tensiones en el sistema pared-mortero-bizcocho-esmalte

No availableCuando en los azulejos (placas de revestimiento) aparecen tensiones después de su colocación, la consecuencia inmediata son dos inconvenientes desagradables: 1) el eventual despegue del azulejo después de un período de tiempo más o menos corto, por desplazamiento de una pieza sencilla o de las filas enteras; 2) la sucesiva aparición de fisuras capilares en el esmalte

Using Data on Social Influence and Collective Action for Parameterizing a Geographically-Explicit Agent-Based Model for the Diffusion of Soil Conservation Efforts

Social influence affects individual decision-making on soil conservation. Understanding the emergent diffusion of collective conservation effort is relevant to natural resource management at the river basin level. This study focuses on the effect of subjective norms and collective action on the diffusion of Soil Conservation Effort (SCE) in the Lake Naivasha basin (Kenya) for the period 1965–2010. A geographically-explicit Agent-Based Model (ABM) version of the CONSUMAT model was developed: the CONSERVAT model. In our model, we have represented heterogeneity in the physical environment and in the social network using empirical data. To parameterize the model, physical data, and social data from a household survey (n = 307) were used. Model simulation results show that it is possible to reproduce empirical spatiotemporal diffusion patterns of SCE levels which are quite sensitive to the way in which social survey data are used to initialize the model. Overall, this study demonstrates (i) that social survey data can effectively be used for parameterization of a geographically-explicit ABM, and (ii) that empirical knowledge on natural environment characteristics and social phenomena can be used to build an agent-based model at the river basin level. This study is an important first step towards including subjective norms for evaluating the effectiveness of alternative policy strategies for natural resource management.</p

Saber etnobotánico, riqueza y valor de uso de plantas medicinales en Monterrey, Villa Corzo, Chiapas (México)

Se registraron 73 especies de plantas medicinales naturalizadas o nativas de la comunidad Monterrey, municipio de Villa Corzo, Chiapas, México. Para el levantamiento de la información, se aplicó una entrevista semiestructurada a una muestra de 119 personas, categorizadas por edad y sexo. Se determinó la familia botánica de cada una de las plantas identificadas, así como el índice de riqueza de conocimiento, el valor de uso y la frecuencia de uso. Dentro de las especies más usadas se encuentran la Verbena (Verbena officinalis L.), la Manzanilla (Chamaemelum nobile L.) y la Albahaca (Ocimum basilicum L.), la Sábila (Aloe barbadensis Miller) y la Ruda (Ruta chalepensis L.), que presentan el mayor índice de riqueza de conocimiento, así como de valor de uso. Las familias más representadas por especies de uso botánico fueron Asteraceae con diez especies, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae con cuatro y Annonaceae, Apiaceae, Lauraceae y Rubiaceae, con tres especies

HESS Opinions: Drought impacts as failed prospects

Human actions induce and modify droughts. However, scientific gaps remain with respect to how hydrological processes, anthropogenic dynamics, and individuals' perceptions of impacts are intrinsically entangled in drought occurrence and evolution. This adds complexity to drought assessment studies that cannot be addressed by the natural and environmental sciences alone. Furthermore, it poses a challenge with respect to developing ways to evaluate human behaviour and its pattern of co-evolution with the hydrological cycle – mainly related to water use and landscape modifications. During fieldwork in Brazil, we observed how drought impacts were experienced by people who were exposed to a multi-year drought. Evaluating our data, it appeared that prospect theory, a behavioural economic theory that is usually applied to explain decision-making processes under uncertainty, has explanatory power regarding what we observed in the field. Therefore, we propose an interdisciplinary approach to improve the understanding of drought impact emergence using this theory. When employing prospect theory in this context, drought impacts are considered failed welfare expectations (“prospects”) due to water shortage. A shifting baseline after prolonged exposure to drought can therefore mitigate experienced drought impacts. We demonstrate that this theory can also contribute to explaining socio-hydrological phenomena, such as reservoir effects. This new approach can help bridge natural science and social science perspectives, resulting in integrated drought management that considers the local context.</p

Is the water footprint an appropriate tool for forestry and forest products: The Fennoscandian case

The water footprint by the Water Footprint Network (WF) is an ambitious tool for measuring human appropriation and promoting sustainable use of fresh water. Using recent case studies and examples from water-abundant Fennoscandia, we consider whether it is an appropriate tool for evaluating the water use of forestry and forest-based products. We show that aggregating catchment level water consumption over a product life cycle does not consider fresh water as a renewable resource and is inconsistent with the principles of the hydrologic cycle. Currently, the WF assumes that all evapotranspiration (ET) from forests is a human appropriation of water although ET from managed forests in Fennoscandia is indistinguishable from that of unmanaged forests. We suggest that ET should not be included in the water footprint of rain-fed forestry and forest-based products. Tools for sustainable water management should always contextualize water use and water impacts with local water availability and environmental sensitivity