Water Rights on Community Lands:LandMark’s Findings from 100 Countries

This paper analyzes whether national laws acknowledge indigenous peoples and other rural communities in 100 countries as owners of waters that arise within their lands. Results derive from information collected by LandMark to score the legal status of community land tenure. Findings are positive; half of all countries recognize communities as lawful possessors of water on their lands. Three quarters permit communities to manage the distribution and use of water on their lands. While 71 percent of countries declare water to be a public resource, this belies the substantial existence of privately owned water. In 29 percent of countries, private water is an identified legal category, and in many other countries obtainable rights to water are sufficiently substantial to imply lawful possession. Communities are beneficiaries mainly where customary rights are accorded status as property rights, or where ownership of public lands and water are devolved to rural collectives. However, opposite trends of nationalization and regulation of water suggest that while legal recognition of community land ownership may rise in the future, this will not necessarily include waters on the land. Irrespective of tenure, rural communities in 72 of 77 countries (93.5 percent) are legally assured access to water for domestic purposes. This is consistent with the rising definition of safe drinking water as a human right, although access does not necessarily come free of cost

Water Rights on Community Lands: LandMark’s Findings from 100 Countries

International audienceThis paper analyzes whether national laws acknowledge indigenous peoples and other rural communities in 100 countries as owners of waters that arise within their lands. Results derive from information collected by LandMark to score the legal status of community land tenure. Findings are positive; half of all countries recognize communities as lawful possessors of water on their lands. Three quarters permit communities to manage the distribution and use of water on their lands. While 71 percent of countries declare water to be a public resource, this belies the substantial existence of privately owned water. In 29 percent of countries, private water is an identified legal category, and in many other countries obtainable rights to water are sufficiently substantial to imply lawful possession. Communities are beneficiaries mainly where customary rights are accorded status as property rights, or where ownership of public lands and water are devolved to rural collectives. However, opposite trends of nationalization and regulation of water suggest that while legal recognition of community land ownership may rise in the future, this will not necessarily include waters on the land. Irrespective of tenure, rural communities in 72 of 77 countries (93.5 percent) are legally assured access to water for domestic purposes. This is consistent with the rising definition of safe drinking water as a human right, although access does not necessarily come free of cost

In search of indicators to assess the environmental impact of diets

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to identify a set of crucial indicators to assess the most pressing environmental impacts of diets. Methods: Based on a literature review, 55 potential assessment methods were selected and their distinctive indicators identified. The methods were classified according to their position in the DPSIR framework [chain of Drivers, Pressures, State (changes), Impacts, and Responses], and into 15 environmental issues at three levels. The selection was narrowed down to eight, based on the availability of reliable methods, their relevance to agri-food systems, their frequent application for diets, and their recommendation by international bodies. Results and discussion: (1) At the global (supra) level, the planetary boundaries approach addresses the current global environmental (change in) state and helps to prioritize the most pressing issues related to the agri-food system as a driver. These issues are climate change, nitrogen and phosphorus cycle disruption, land-use change, and freshwater use. (2) At the national (macro) level, the footprints approach is used to identify indicators. This footprint family includes ecological, land, carbon, energy, and water footprints. International bodies support these key indicators, but they recommend complementary assessment methods for nitrogen and phosphorus flows, soil health, and pesticide use. (3) At the product (micro) level, life cycle assessment includes 11 pressure indicators. Of the latter, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) and land use (LU) are the most frequently used indicators in diet studies. Conclusions: We conclude that GHGEs and LU fulfill the selection criteria and address most of the environmental impact of diets well. In the future, these indicators should be supplemented with an indicator addressing the nitrogen and phosphorous efficiency of food products

A Diverse Assemblage of Reef Corals Thriving in a Dynamic Intertidal Reef Setting (Bonaparte Archipelago, Kimberley, Australia)

The susceptibility of reef-building corals to climatic anomalies is well documented and a cause of great concern for the future of coral reefs. Reef corals are normally considered to tolerate only a narrow range of climatic conditions with only a small number of species considered heat-tolerant. Occasionally however, corals can be seen thriving in unusually harsh reef settings and these are cause for some optimism about the future of coral reefs. Here we document for the first time a diverse assemblage of 225 species of hard corals occurring in the intertidal zone of the Bonaparte Archipelago, north western Australia. We compare the environmental conditions at our study site (tidal regime, SST and level of turbidity) with those experienced at four other more typical tropical reef locations with similar levels of diversity. Physical extremes in the Bonaparte Archipelago include tidal oscillations of up to 8 m, long subaerial exposure times (>3.5 hrs), prolonged exposure to high SST and fluctuating turbidity levels. We conclude the timing of low tide in the coolest parts of the day ameliorates the severity of subaerial exposure, and the combination of strong currents and a naturally high sediment regime helps to offset light and heat stress. The low level of anthropogenic impact and proximity to the Indo-west Pacific centre of diversity are likely to further promote resistance and resilience in this community. This assemblage provides an indication of what corals may have existed in other nearshore locations in the past prior to widespread coastal development, eutrophication, coral predator and disease outbreaks and coral bleaching events. Our results call for a re-evaluation of what conditions are optimal for coral survival, and the Bonaparte intertidal community presents an ideal model system for exploring how species resilience is conferred in the absence of confounding factors such as pollution