Fishers’ knowledge identifies potentialsocio-ecological impactsdownstreamofproposed dams in the Tapajos River, Brazilian Amazon

Brazil’s hydroelectricity sector is rapidly expanding with several planned dams in Amazonian rivers. While the impacts of dam development on fisheries located upstream from dams have been acknowledged, impacts on fisheries downstream have been overlooked by impact assessments. This study generates fishery baseline data to analyse the socio-ecological vulnerability of small-scale fisheries located downstream from the proposed São Luiz do Tapajós dam in the Tapajos River. 171 fishers were interviewed in relation to their socio-economic situation and the fishery resources they depend upon, along a ~275 km stretch of river downstream from the dam. The results indicate that fishing is an important activity, constituting a key source of food and income for the fishers and their communities. The fishers’ socio-ecological vulnerability differed according to the fish species they relied upon, their fishing site, equipment used and their dependency on fishing. However, river impoundment is expected to affect the socio-economic and emotional well-being of all fishers, putting their livelihoods and those of their families at risk. The results suggest that by ignoring the effects of dams on downstream communities, the São Luiz do Tapajós dam’s impact assessment severely underestimates the downstream area and thus the number of people who would be affected. It is concluded that a thorough evaluation of all the downstream fishers needs to be included in the official impact assessment before river impoundment is begun, and that development plans should be based on these findings.O setor hidroelétrico brasileiro está expandindo rapidamente com muitas represas planejadas em rios amazônicos. Embora os impactos da construção de represas em pescarias localizadas rio acima das represas tenham sido reconhecidos, o impacto em pescarias rio abaixo foram negligenciados em análises de impacto. Este estudo gera dados de referência destas pescarias para analisar a vulnerabilidade soco ecológica de pescarias de pequena escala localizadas rio abaixo da proposta represa de São Luiz do Tapajós no rio Tapajós. 171 pescadores foram entrevistados em relação à sua situação socioeconômica e aos recursos pesqueiros de que dependem, ao longo de um trecho de rio aproximadamente 275km abaixo rio da represa. Os resultados indicam que a pesca é uma atividade importante, constituindo uma fonte essencial de comida e renda para os pescadores e suas comunidades. A vulnerabilidade soco ecológica dos pescadores diferiu de acordo com a espécie de peixe da qual dependem, seu local de pesca, equipamento usado e sua dependência da pesca. No entanto, é esperado que o represamento do rio afete o bem-estar socioeconômico e emocional dos pescadores, colocando sua subsistência e a de suas famílias em risco. Os resultados sugerem que ao ignorar os efeitos de represas em comunidades rio abaixo, a análise de impacto da represa de São Luiz do Tapajós subestima severamente a área rio abaixo e assim o número de pessoas que seriam afetadas. É concluído que uma avaliação rigorosa de todas pescarias rio abaixo deve ser incluída na avaliação oficial de impacto antes que se comece o represamento do rio, e que os planos de construção devem ser baseados nesses resultados

Fishers' knowledge indicates extensive socioecological impacts downstream of proposed dams in a tropical river

Brazil’s hydroelectricity sector is rapidly expanding, and several dams are planned in Amazonian rivers. The impacts on the fisheries downstream of the dams have largely been overlooked by official impact assessments. Here, we gather fishery baseline data from interviews with 171 fishers in 16 communities along a 275-km stretch of the Tapajos River, located downstream of a proposed dam. The results indicate that fishing constitutes a key source of food and income for fishers and their communities and that the impact of the dam on the fisheries will potentially extend much further than the officially recognized affected area. By ignoring the effects of the dams on downstream communities, impact assessments have severely underestimated the number of people who would be affected by the dams. Therefore, a thorough evaluation of downstream fishers needs to be conducted prior to river impoundment and be considered by development plans

Die Rolle externer Repräsentationen in der netzgestützten Arzt-Patienten-Kommunikation

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Frage, welchen Einfluss geteilte, externe Repräsentationen auf Kommunikationsprozesse zwischen Experten und Laien nehmen können. Diese Frage wird aus einer instruktionspsychologischen Perspektive gestellt und zu beantworten versucht. In vielen Fällen ist das Ziel der Kommunikation zwischen Experten und Laien, den Laien dazu zu befähigen, eine informierte Entscheidung zu treffen. Betrachtet man allerdings die Inhalte der Kommunikation, so fällt auf, dass häufig keine fachlichen Zusammenhänge, sondern lediglich Ratschläge vermittelt werden. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wird ein Ansatz für eine (Teil-)lösung dieser Problematik empirisch untersucht. Konkret wird untersucht, welche Kriterien eine Kommunikation zwischen Mediziner und Laie auf der Basis eines shared decision making (SDM) in einer netzgestützten Kommunikationssituation erfüllt beziehungsweise wie Aspekte des SDM mittels einer externen Repräsentation unterstützt werden können