Gender Justice and Climate Justice: Community-based strategies to increase women’s political agency in watershed management in times of climate change

Socially vulnerable people, and women in particular, are disproportionately affected by global climate change because of their gendered socioeconomic roles and often their geographic location; yet they are least equipped to deal with those impacts due to their disadvantaged economic and political position. Women, however, have special contributions to make towards climate change adaptation because of gendered differences in positional knowledge of ecological and water-related conditions. To date, women have been largely underrepresented, and in the majority of cases, excluded from formal decision-making processes related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Including women in these processes and building their capacity and resilience is required for the development of effective and gender-sensitive climate change adaptation policy. Also, preparing women for the short and long-term impacts of climate change is crucial for addressing some of the social aspects of this phenomenon and for preventing further aggravation of existing gender inequalities. This paper discusses South-North initiatives and models for community-based environmental and climate change education which are using the democratic opening provided by watershed-based governance structures to broaden grassroots participation, especially of women, in political processes. We outline the activities and results of two international projects, the Sister Watersheds project, with Brazilian and Canadian partners (2002-2008), and a Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project with partners in Canada, Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa (2010-2013)

Women and water management in times of climate change: participatory and inclusive processes

This paper focuses on community engagement, and particularly the inclusion of women, in water management as a response to climate change. Addressing water-related problems is central to climate change adaptation, and civil society, marginalized populations and women, in particular, must be involved. This is for both moral and pragmatic reasons: not only are the marginalized the first and worst affected by extreme weather events, but they also possess local ecological, social and political knowledge which can inform and contribute significantly to climate change adaptation strategies. Because of their social roles and position worldwide, women are greatly affected by water scarcity and flooding, and tend to be gravely impacted by poor water management, yet they face great difficulties in participating effectively in governance bodies. Sustainable long-term management of water resources in the face of climate change requires the participation of women, who possess knowledge of effective social tech- nologies for coping with and adapting to climate change. Community-based environmental education is therefore required in order to expand the equitable involvement of women in water-related climate change adaptation activities and policy development. Environmental non-governmental organizations worldwide, working on shoestring budgets at the local level, are developing a range of methods to organize, raise consciousness and confidence, and help local activists create successful climate defense programs. This paper discusses SoutheNorth initiatives and models for community-based environmental and climate change education which are using the democratic opening provided by watershed-based governance structures to broaden grassroots participation, especially of women, in political processes. We outline the activities and results of two international projects: the Sister Watersheds project, with Brazilian and Canadian partners (2002e2008); and a Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project with partners in Canada, Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa (2010e2012).This research was supported by the International Development Research Centre, grant number IDRC GRANT NO. 106002-00

International partnerships of women for sustainable watershed governance in times of climate change

This chapter describes and assesses collaborative research with women actively engaged in local and global community engagement processes for water management in times of global climate change. As an equity-focused response to climate change, the interrelated networks and initiatives described in the chapter involve organizations and individuals in Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, and Canada. These collaborations are focused on strengthening low-income women's voices, and legitimizing their knowledge and action within water management institutions and processes. The chapter draws from what people learned through two international projects, the Sister Watersheds project with Canadian and Brazilian partners, and a Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project with partners in Canada, Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa. The methods and approach of the Sister Watersheds project proved to be applicable to climate change education and organizing in Canada as well as in Brazil. The chapter summarizes that women are working together on climate education and water governance, helping to inspire and generate related strategies.This research was supported by the International Development Research Centre, grant number IDRC GRANT NO. 106002-00

Strengthening the role of civil society in water sector governance towards climate change adaptation in African cities – Durban, Maputo, Nairobi

Water resources management is one of the most important climate change-related issues on international, national and urban public policy agendas. Income inequality in South Africa, Mozambique, and Kenya is among the largest in the world; in all three countries, equity struggles related to water are growing in social, political and ecological significance, which is both a symptom and a cause of urban vulnerabilities related to climate change. Democratic mediation of these conflicts, and sustainable long-term management of water resources in the face of climate change, requires public participation. But those most affected by water issues such as scarcity and flooding are also those least likely to be able to participate in governance and policy institutions. In particular, members of economically disadvantaged groups – especially women, in general – tend to be gravely impacted by poor water management, but also face great difficulties in participating effectively in governance bodies. This project responded to that particular need, and has developed practical strategies for strengthening urban governments in planning investments in climate change adaptation. The project linked university researchers with community-based NGOs conducting environmental education and organizing participatory workshops in low-income urban areas with pressing climate change and water-related problems; built on proven methods of community-university collaboration to strengthen urban watershed governance; increased equity in public participation processes related to urban climate change adaptation; and fostered progressive local, national and international policy development on climate change-related water management – while training students, university researchers, NGO staff members, and community participants. The major research outcome of the project is its contribution to understanding effective ways of strengthening local governments, NGOs and civil society organizations involved in environmental education and organizing for improved public participation in watershed governance and climate change adaptation in African urban areas.This research was supported by the International Development Research Centre, grant number IDRC GRANT NO. 106002-00

Elections, Ideology, and Turnover in the U.S. Federal Government

A defining feature of public sector employment is the regular change in elected leadership. Yet, we know little about how elections influence public sector careers. We describe how elections alter policy outputs and disrupt the influence of civil servants over agency decisions. These changes shape the career choices of employees motivated by policy, influence, and wages. Using new Office of Personnel Management data on the careers of millions of federal employees between 1988 and 2011, we evaluate how elections influence employee turnover decisions. We find that presidential elections increase departure rates of career senior employees, particularly in agencies with divergent views relative to the new president and at the start of presidential terms. We also find suggestive evidence that vacancies in high-level positions after elections may induce lower-level executives to stay longer in hopes of advancing. We conclude with implications of our findings for public policy, presidential politics, and public management

Public Sector Personnel Economics: Wages, Promotions, and the Competence-Control Trade-off

We model personnel policies in public agencies, examining how wages and promotion standards can partially offset a fundamental contracting problem: the inability of public sector workers to contract on performance, and the inability of political masters to contract on forbearance from meddling. Despite the dual contracting problem, properly constructed personnel policies can encourage intrinsically motivated public sector employees to invest in expertise, seek promotion, remain in the public sector, and develop policy projects. However, doing so requires internal personnel policies that sort slackers from zealots. Personnel policies that accomplish this task are quite different in agencies where acquired expertise has little value in the private sector, and agencies where acquired expertise commands a premium in the private sector. Finally, even with well-designed personnel policies, there remains an inescapable trade-off between political control and expertise acquisition

Quitting in Protest: A Theory of Presidential Policy Making and Agency Response

This paper examines the effects of centralized presidential policy-making, implemented through unilateral executive action, on the willingness of bureaucrats to exert effort and stay in the government. Extending models in organizational economics, we show that policy initiative by the president is a substitute for initiative by civil servants. Yet, total effort is enhanced when both work. Presidential centralization of policy often impels policy-oriented bureaucrats ( zealots ) to quit rather than implement presidential policies they dislike. Those most likely to quit are a range of moderate bureaucrats. More extreme bureaucrats may be willing to wait out an opposition president in the hope of tempering future policy when an allied president is elected. As control of the White House alternates between ideologically opposed extreme presidents, policy-minded moderates are stripped from bureaucratic agencies leaving only policy extremists or poorly performing slackers. These departures degrade policy initiative in moderate agencies

Reflorestamento com teca (Tectona grandis L. F.) no estado do Acre.

O reflorestamento praticado na Amazônia, com finalidade de cumprir a reposição florestal obrigatória em atendimento à legislação ambiental vigente, tornou-se um desafio para os utilizadores de matéria-prima florestal, visto que são incipientes os estudos e pesquisas capazes de subsidiar a adoção de procedimentos técnicos adaptados às condições regionais, e as experiências bem sucedidas de reflorestamento na Amazônia. Mesmo diante destas limitações, implantaram-se vários projetos de reflorestamento com o objetivo de, a curto prazo, cumprir as exigências da legislação vigente; a médio prazo, obter respostas do comportamento das espécies implantadas; e a longo prazo, substituir a matéria-prima nativa por produção originária de plantios racionais.bitstream/item/117320/1/4495.pd

MODEFLORA: Modelo Digital de Exploração Florestal.

O Modelo Digital de Exploração Florestal (Modeflora) é um processo de planejamento florestal, em que são abandonados os princípios de mapeamento por técnicas de falsas coordenadas, também conhecidas por X, Y. O fundamento do método consiste em georreferenciar e “geomonitorar” todos os processos, da elaboração à execução do manejo florestal. Para isso são empregadas de forma integrada técnicas de inventário florestal, pesquisa operacional, GNSS, GIS, barômetros, radar SRTM, imagens reamostradas de alta resolução (inventário de copa), planejamento de rede de estradas florestais, execução, aperfeiçoamento e rastreamento das operações de exploração florestal. O Modeflora reduz os custos de elaboração e execução de planos de manejo florestal em pelo menos 30%; evita erros de campo tornando precisa a localização de árvores e o microzoneamento, permitindo a obtenção de mapas na escala de 1:15; aumenta a eficácia do processo de licenciamento e monitoramento, visto que todas as etapas são monitoradas com custo inferior ao processo tradicional; eleva a precisão das informações geoambientais do manejo florestal, em que o erro médio gira em torno de 230 cm; promove o manejo florestal de impacto reduzido, pois estradas, pátios e trilhas são planejados em escritório, com alto nível de precisão; informatiza e rastreia as operações de campo (do inventário à exploração), em que é possível saber se a equipe não inventariou áreas de interesse e determinar o tempo de ciclo de arraste, entre outras possibilidades. Com isso o planejamento florestal torna-se muito mais integrado ao ecossistema florestal, priorizando a redução de impactos ambientais, a otimização de fatores econômicos e da segurança no trabalho.bitstream/CPAF-AC-2010/22629/1/impactos2008.pd

Método da variável fictícia para ajuste de modelos volumétricos estáveis e compátiveis em povoamentos florestais.

Funcionamento das variáveis Dummy em regressões mateméticas; Estrutura da base de dados; Construção dos modelos para estimar volume de árvores individuais, considerando as variáveis dummy; Análise residual para observações influentes em modelos lineares com a variável dummy; Seleção da equação de regressão; Diagnóstico de normalidade para euqções com a variável dummy; efeito de aplicação das variáveis dummy; efeito da aplicação das variáveis dummy; Exemplos de alguns modelos com a variável dummy.bitstream/CPAF-AC-2010/21013/1/doc95.pd