Promoting local management in groundwater

Abstract There is a strong case for making greater effort to promote local groundwater management-in addition to other measures that regulate groundwater use. Though scattered, there are several examples-from India, Pakistan, Yemen and Egypt-where groundwater users effectively self-imposed restrictions on the use of groundwater. There are a number of recurrent themes in such spontaneouslydeveloped examples of local regulation: the importance of not excluding potential users; the importance of simple, low transaction cost rules; the power of correct and accessible hydrogeological information; the possibility of making more use of demand and supply management strategies; and the important supportive role of local governments. The case is made, using examples, for actively promoting local groundwater management as an important element in balancing groundwater uses. Two programmes for promoting local groundwater management in South India are described-one focussing on participatory hydrological monitoring, and one focussing on micro-resource planning and training. In both cases the response was very positive and the conclusion is that promoting local groundwater regulation is not difficult, costly or sensitive and can reach the necessary scale quickly. De tels exemples de réglementation locale, dont les développements sont spontanés, répondentà certains thèmes récurrents: l'importance de la prise en compte de consommateurs potentiels, l'importance de règles simples et de faibles coûts de transaction, le pouvoir d'informations hydrogéologiques fiables et accessibles, le développement potentiel de l'utilisation de stratégies de gestion de l'offre et de la demande et l'important rôle de soutien des autorités locales. L'argumentaire est centré,à l'aide d'exemples, sur la promotion active d'une gestion locale de l'eau souterraine, en tant qu'élément pondérateur essentiel des usages de l'eau souterraine. Deux programmes de promotion d'une gestion locale des ressources en eau souterraine, tous deux en Inde méridionale, sont exposés. L'un est centré sur un suivi hydrologique participatif, et l'autre sur la formation et une gestionà petiteéchelle. Les retours se sont avérés positifs dans les deux cas. En conclusion, la promotion d'une réglementation de l'eau souterraineà l'échelle locale n'est ni difficile, ni coûteuse, ni délicate, et pourra s'avérer nécessaire dans un futur proche. Résumé Resumen Hay una motivación fuerte para incrementar los esfuerzos que promuevan la gestión local del agua subterránea-además de otras medidas que regulan el uso de dicha agua subterránea-. Hay varios ejemplos aunque dispersos de India, Pakistán, Yemen y Egipto, donde los usuarios del agua subterránea de manera efectiva se auto impusieron restricciones en el uso de ella. Hay varios temas recurrentes en esos ejemplos de regulación local espontáneamente desarrollados: la importancia de no excluir a los usuarios potenciales; la importancia de las reglas simples y con bajo costo en los trámites; el poder de la información hidrogeológica correcta y accesible; la posibilidad de hacer mayor uso de estrategias de gestión tipo demanda-suministro; y el papel importante del respaldo de los gobiernos locales. La motivación se hizo, usando ejemplos, que promovieron activamente la gestión local del agua subterránea como un elemento importante para obtener equilibrio en los usos de aquella. Se describen dos programas que promueven la gestión local del agua subterránea en el sur de la India-uno enfocado en el monitoreo hidrológico participativo, y uno enfocado en la Hydrogeology Journal (2006) 14: 380-391 DOI 10.1007/s10040-005-0015-y 381 planeación y entrenamiento acerca del micro-recurso. En ambos casos la respuesta fue muy positiva y la conclusión es que promover la regulación local del agua subterránea no es difícil, ni costoso, ni causa ofensa y puede alcanzar el balance necesario rápidamente

Zonder marge geen centrum: Een pleidooi voor rechtvaardige transities

How can processes of social in- and exclusion be understood from a perspective of radical systems change? This question is addressed by exploring the dialectics of in- and exclusion both theoretically and empirically. A study of historical and current innovation processes focused on ‘poverty care’, ‘homeless youth’ and ‘deprived neighborhoods’ shows that while such processes strive for just transitions, at the same time reproduce existing inequalities

Roadside Planting in Ethiopia: Turning a Problem into an Opportunity

 Roads have both positive and negative impacts in the areas surrounding them. With the expansion of roads growing at an inexorable speed in Ethiopia and all Sub-Saharan Africa, these impacts need to be well understood. A questionnaire was used to gather information on road-related impacts on the rural population. A total of 529 sample households were selected in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. The three most common consequences cited by respondents in order of importance were dust, flooding and erosion. Close to 44% of the respondents said that the occurrence of dust has increased after construction of the road. The reduction of yield estimated by farmers ranges from 10% to 50%. Close to 11% of the sample households faced decline in crop production and income due to dust lifted up from roads. The breakpoint for road dust occurred approximately at 200 to 280 meters from the road. Roadside plantations along rural roads have proven to mitigate road-related impacts and restore the ecological balance. When linked to rural development programs, roadside planting can create employment while generating a reliable source of income for rural communities

Initial results of in vivo non-invasive cancer imaging in the human breast using near-infrared photoacoustics

Near-infrared photoacoustic images of regions-of-interest in 4 of the 5 cases of patients with symptomatic breasts reveal higher intensity regions which we attribute to vascular distribution associated with cancer. Of the 2 cases presented here, one is especially significant where benign indicators dominate in conventional radiological images, while photoacoustic images reveal vascular features suggestive of malignancy, which is corroborated by histopathology. The results show that photoacoustic imaging may have potential in visualizing certain breast cancers based on intrinsic optical absorption contrast. A future role for the approach could be in supplementing conventional breast imaging to assist detection and/or diagnosis.\ud \u

Actor roles in transition: Insights from sociological perspectives

AbstractTo date, the field of transition research lacks a suitable vocabulary to analyse the (changing) interactions and relations of actors as part of a sustainability transition. This article addresses this knowledge gap by exploring the potential of the concept of ‘roles’ from social interaction research. The role concept is operationalized for transition research to allow the analysis of (changing) roles and relations between actor roles as indicative of changes in the social fabric and shared values, norms and beliefs. It also allows considering the use of roles as a transition governance intervention. This includes creating new roles, breaking down or altering existing ones and explicitly negotiating or purposefully assigning roles, as well as the flexible use of roles as resources

Linking transitions and sustainability: a study into social effects of transition management

Sustainability transitions as processes of fundamental change in societal systems are open-ended, nonlinear and uncertain. Respective research and governance approaches, e.g. transition management, propose a reflexive way of governing, aiming for a number of social effects to help facilitating a transition. Effects include empowerment, social learning and social capital development. Jointly mentioned social effects shall allow for reflexivity and innovation in developing socially robust and contextualized solutions to sustainability challenges that work in practice. Still, understanding mentioned social effects and their interplay more in depth is needed to design and assess transition management processes. While such understanding and related assessment framework is under development in transition management literature, transdisciplinary sustainability research can provide a rich body of tools and experiences. Building on a review of respective literature, this article develops an evaluation framework focusing on social effects as important and hitherto under conceptualised aspects of sustainability transitions literature. This framework is used to empirically investigate the effects of two specific transition management processes at local scale. Doing so, the article provides a conceptual and empirical understanding of how social effects contribute to a transition towards sustainability. Results highlight the importance and possibilities of addressing sustainability as an inherent quality of social effects aimed for

Practices and Hydrological Effects of Road Water Harvesting in Northern Ethiopia: Towards Design of Multi-Functional Infrastructures

Infrastructure development (including roads and railways) are among the major investments in many countries in Africa. Road hydraulic structures (road side drainages, culverts and bridges) are mostly designed to discharge concentrated flow of water. Unmanaged water from roads could lead to erosion, flooding, water logging, siltation, and even landslides. To convert such problems into opportunities, road water harvesting (RWH) was systematically promoted in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, in the years 2014-2018. The method/approach used include: (i) participatory selection of RWH technologies, (ii) implementation of the technologies through community mobilization, and (iii) monitoring the hydrological effects/benefits of the interventions (mainly on soil moisture and groundwater levels). Results of the study revealed that harvesting water from road catchments is found to have several benefits: increase in groundwater recharge (enhancing infiltration and reducing flooding), improvement in soil moisture, and increase in availability of surface water in ponds/reservoirs. Road water harvesting/management was found to be an instrument to create resilience to rainfall variability and reduce the negative effects of water from roads; an opportunity which need to be promoted not only in water and land management but also in infrastructural development whereby multi-functional roads could be designed/constructed

The local and national politics of groundwater overexploitation

Groundwater overexploitation is a worldwide phenomenon with important consequences and as yet few effective solutions. Work on groundwater governance often emphasises the roles of both formal statecentred policies and tools on the one hand, and self-governance and collective action on the other. Yet, empirically grounded work is limited and scattered, making it difficult to identify and characterise key emerging trends. Groundwater policy making is frequently premised on an overestimation of the power of the state, which is often seen as incapable or unwilling to act and constrained by a myriad of logistical, political and legal issues. Actors on the ground either find many ways to circumvent regulations or develop their own bricolage of patched, often uncoordinated, solutions; whereas in other cases corruption and capture occur, for example in water right trading rules, sometimes with the complicity – even bribing – of officials. Failed regulation has a continued impact on the environment and the crowding out of those lacking the financial means to continue the race to the bottom. Groundwater governance systems vary widely according to the situation, from state-centred governance to comanagement and rare instances of community-centred management. The collection of papers in this issue illustrates the diversity of situations, the key role of the state, the political intricacies of achieving sustainability and establishing a mode of governance that can account for the externalities of groundwater overdraft, and the opportunities to establish cooperative arrangements