Rethinking the contribution of indigenous management in small-scale water provision among selected rural communities in Cameroon

This paper describes the pro-active role of rural communities in negotiating livelihood and sustenance through the improvement of some of their local water sources. It discusses the strategies put in place to ensure the availability of water, one of the worlds scarcest natural resources. Despite some external assistance, local communities are increasingly shouldering the responsibility of ensuring the availability of water through self-reliant efforts. These attempts are being undermined by a high incidence of waterborne and water-related diseases, which are impacting on health, and hygiene and other health care delivery systems. The management of potable water is proving to be a herculean task for most communities after the departure of funding partners. To guarantee the proper maintenance of pipe borne water schemes, communities are rethinking their strategies as they grapple with difficulties to put in place viable techniques for sustainability of water supply schemes.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Climate change,sustainable water management and institutional adaptation in rural sub-Saharan Africa

Much current work on climate adaptation options vis-à-vis water management in rural sub-Saharan Africa has tended to focus more on technological and infrastructural alternatives and less on institutional alternatives. Yet, vulnerability to climate variability and change in these contexts is a function not just of biophysical outcomes but also of institutional factors that can vary significantly at relatively finer scales. This paper seeks to contribute towards closing this gap by examining institutional options for sustainable water management in rural SSA in the context of climate change and variability. It explores challenges for transforming water-related institutions and puts forward institutional alternatives towards adapting to increasingly complex conditions created by climate change and variability. The paper suggests revisiting the Integrated Water Resources Management approach which has dominated water institutional debates and reforms in Africa over the recent past, towards actively adopting resilience and adaptive management lenses in crafting water institutional development initiatives.     

Research on the management models of the rural primary water management from the view of public service: a case study of Zhejiang Province

The rural primary organizations of water management are the important parts of the public service system in the government administration. This paper studies several major management models of the rural primary water management in Zhejiang Province of China. The research result shows that ambiguous functions, lack of funding, and unreasonable personnel structure are the major problems of the rural primary water management. Therefore, it is urgent to improve service system, ensure sufficient funds, and qualify the population personnel of the rural primary organizations of water management.     

Research on the management models of the rural primary water management from the view of public service:a case study of Zhejiang Province

The rural primary organizations of water management are the important parts of the public service system in the government administration.This paper studies several major management models of the rural primary water management in Zhejiang Province of China.The research result shows that ambiguous functions,lack of funding,and unreasonable personnel structure are the major problems of the rural primary water management.Therefore,it is urgent to improve service system,ensure sufficient funds,and qualify the population personnel of the rural primary organizations of water management     

Palm use and social values in rural communities on the coastal plains of Veracruz, Mexico

Palms are a resource of great importance in the tropics and are found in a variety of ecosystems, including the wetlands of the tropical coastal plains. In order to recover wetland ecosystems, we studied the traditional uses of wetland palms, by conducting interviews in the communities of four municipalities on the Gulf of Mexico coast. We found that people use five species of palm: Cocos nucifera, Sabal mexicana, Attalea liebmannii, Roystonea dunlapiana and Acrocomia aculeata. Main uses for the five species were for food and construction materials. Although palms are still used, traditional knowledge is declining in the younger generations, likely as a result of various social, cultural and economic factors. It is important to recover and promote the traditional use and value of palm trees, especially for the native species, because of both the economic benefits and the environmental services they provide. More participatory work with the inhabitants is needed to initiate palm breeding programs to assist in the recovery of wetland ecosystems.     

An assessment of the metabolic profile implied by agricultural change in two rural communities in the North of Argentina

The soy expansion model in Argentina generates structural changes in traditional lifestyles, which can be associated with different biophysical and socioeconomic impacts. To explore this issue, we apply an innovative method for integrated assessment—the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism framework—to characterize two communities in the Chaco Region, Province of Formosa, North of Argentina. These communities have recently experienced the expansion of soy production, altering their economic activity, energy consumption patterns, land use and human time allocation. The integrated characterization presented in the paper illustrates the differences (biophysical, socioeconomic and historical) between the two communities that can be associated with different responses. The analysis of the factors behind these differences has important policy implications for the sustainable development of local communities in the area.     

Practising the past in the present: using Ghanaian indigenous methods for water quality determination in the contemporary era

Surface water sources remain the dominant sources of water supply for a significant proportion of poor communities. These water supply sources tend to have low water quality levels. Application of water quality determination and purification measures could minimize water-related diseases associated with direct consumption of water with poor quality levels. A number of simple measures have been devised and utilized by indigenous communities based on their resource conservation knowledge to improve water quality levels. However, scientific approaches that are more in tune with modern demands for reliability and exactness are the preferred, mainstream approaches for determining water quality. Growing recognition of the relevance of indigenous knowledge has led to renewed interest in the possibility of utilizing it for such tasks. Research conducted in 2007 and 2008 in two indigenous communities in Ghana revealed a diversity of indigenous methods for water quality determination and purification including straining, settling and use of special seeds which could still be useful in this contemporary era. This paper recommends that knowledge co-production and transdisciplinary approaches be employed to enable indigenous communities and experts to collaborate and develop measures that tap both knowledge systems for improving water quality levels for human use.     

Multiple values from the forest: contribution of non-timber forest products to livelihoods of local communities in Northeastern Thailand

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Local residents near forests often collect non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for a variety of reasons, including food, medicine, firewood, religious...     

Land use/cover dynamics and its impact on the rural livelihood of potter communities

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This study was undertaken to examine impacts of land use/cover dynamics on the rural livelihood of potter communities in Domba Watershed, Southwestern...     

Social determinants of soil and water conservation in rural Kenya

Soil erosion is a major environmental problem and threat to rural development in Kenya. Numerous attempts to address the problem have apparently had little success. There are however some districts that have been very successful, notably Machakos. In this study we search for the factors that determine successful development in soil conservation such as social capital, human capital and market integration. One of our main results is that social capital measures are significant determinants of investment in soil conservation. A better understanding of the relevant mechanisms is essential for developing policies targeting improvement in natural resource management.

Use and knowledge of fuelwood in three rural caatinga (dryland) communities in NE Brazil

The woody species known, used, and preferred as fuelwood were examined in three rural communities within the county of Soledade, Paraíba State, NE Brazil. Ethnobotanical information was collected using semi-structured interviews with more than 90% of the local households (55 adult residents; 31 women, and 24 males). The interviewees cited 36 plant species as fuelwoods, distributed among 30 genera and 15 families, in addition to two unidentified plants. The plant families represented by the largest numbers of species were Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae, Mimosaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Sapotaceae, and Fabaceae. The species Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul. (“catingueira”) was cited with the greatest frequency in all three communities. Within the communities we found significant differences on the number of plants cited and actually used (p < 0.05), indicating that the residents knew more fuelwood species than they effectively harvest. The different distances from the communities to the urban centers were not related to differences on the use or the size of the stocks of fuelwood. Additionally, the study revealed that the communities examined still maintain a significant knowledge of the use of energy-providing plants in spite of the widespread use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Analysis of the cost-effectiveness for ecosystem service provision and rural income generation: a comparison of three different programs in Southern Ecuador

In recent years, new tools for funding nature conservation have been designed. Because poverty is often significant in areas with high biodiversity, the improvement of local livelihoods is frequently considered as a secondary goal of new financing mechanisms besides nature conservation. The buffer zone of the Podocarpus National Park in Ecuador is such a high biodiversity zone. In this paper, we compare the cost-effectiveness and development potential of three different mechanisms to finance nature conservation implemented in this buffer zone, namely (a) an organic coffee label, (b) the Socio Bosque Program, a nationwide payment scheme for private forest conservation, and (c) FORAGUA, a regional water fund. This paper describes the functioning and the scope of the mechanisms and analyses their environmental and socio-economic impacts which are compared to the total costs. Results show that the water fund has the highest additionality in ecosystem service provision, while the payment scheme is the most cost-effective both for current as for increased ecosystem service provision and for extra rural job creation. Organic coffee certification has the highest positive impact on rural income creation.     

A review of the water resources management for the Brantas River basin: challenges in the transition to an integrated water resources management

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper reviews an integrated approach involving the representative stakeholders in the development and management of water available in the Brantas...     

The use of molecular techniques to characterize the microbial communities in contaminated soil and water

Traditionally, the identification and characterization of microbial communities in contaminated soil and water has previously been limited to those microorganisms that are culturable. The application of molecular techniques to study microbial populations at contaminated sites without the need for culturing has led to the discovery of unique and previously unrecognized microorganisms as well as complex microbial diversity in contaminated soil and water which shows an exciting opportunity for bioremediation strategies. Nucleic acid extraction from contaminated sites and their subsequent amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has proved extremely useful in assessing the changes in microbial community structure by several microbial community profiling techniques. This review examines the current application of molecular techniques for the characterization of microbial communities in contaminated soil and water. Techniques that identify and quantify microbial population and catabolic genes involved in biodegradation are examined. In addition, methods that directly link microbial phylogeny to its ecological function at contaminated sites as well as high throughput methods for complex microbial community studies are discussed.     

Assessment of the Hygiene and Sanitation Campaign in Cameroon

This paper is an evaluation of a nationwide hygiene and sanitation campaign officially launched in Cameroon in the first quarter of the year 2000. It draws on Environmental Management and Planning concepts to appraise the planning and implementation process. The immediate outcome of the project was observed to be a success story as unattractive buildings were either re-furbished, or demolished, giving a face-lift to many towns, decongesting many areas, improving drainage, and instilling some degree of sanitation. It goes further to make the point that no effective monitoring or follow-up structures has made the situation worse, and recommends that future environmental policies should reflect a participatory approach.     

A commentary on recent water safety initiatives in the context of water utility risk management

Over the last decade, suppliers of drinking water have recognised the limitations of relying solely on end-product monitoring to ensure safe water quality and have sought to reinforce their approach by adopting preventative strategies where risks are proactively identified, assessed and managed. This is leading to the development of water safety plans; structured 'route maps' for managing risks to water supply, from catchment to consumer taps. This paper reviews the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedure on which many water safety plans are based and considers its appropriateness in the context of drinking water risk management. We examine water safety plans in a broad context, looking at a variety of monitoring, optimisation and risk management initiatives that can be taken to improve drinking water safety. These are cross-compared using a simple framework that facilitates an integrated approach to water safety. Finally, we look at how risk management practices are being integrated across water companies and how this is likely to affect the future development of water safety plans.     

The Lower Niger River dredging and indigenous wetland livelihoods in Nigeria: the Anam communities in Ugbolu, Delta State, as a case study

The article explored systemic tendencies for state-led development projects in Nigeria, such as the recently concluded Lower Niger River dredging, to compromise indigenous livelihoods. Development research methods were sensitized with James Ferguson’s antipolitics machine critique and used to elicit participants’ perspectives of the structuring role of the Niger River on their livelihoods, their evaluation of the participatory content of the project and potential project effects on their livelihoods. Participants claimed the Niger River system singularly structures their livelihoods by facilitating recession farming and fishing. In relation to the participatory content and (un)anticipated effects of the dredging project, key informants insisted that it was undemocratically conceived and executed; that the project will reduce the annual Niger River flood, opportunities for recession farming and fishing, impoverish them, induce involuntary migration, and inter-community conflict. Consequently, an inverse relationship was inferred between technicist development programmes or projects conceived and managed by agents of the Nigerian State and the alleged beneficiaries’ versions and experience of structural change. The author also found that the project was exploited by Nigerian development elites to redefine complex regional underdevelopment challenges as infrastructural deficit and relocate discursive blame for underdevelopment from the state and multinational corporations to riverside communities, their cultures and wet ecologies.     

Perspectives and limitations of indicators in water management

This paper addresses the issue of indicators for water management by considering why we need them, what the characteristics of a good indicator should be, how they can add value to policy and decision-making, and what are their limitations. There are a vast quantity of data available on water in Europe from which a range of basic trend indicators has been derived. Most of these indicators address "what is happening?"-type questions. Some indicators go further and address "does it matter?" questions by assessing trends against prescribed standards and targets. There have been some interesting developments in indicators which help to understand the demand side of water management and to assess the relative efficiencies of resource usage in different socio-economic sectors. More effort is needed to bring together relevant social, economic and environmental information interactively to define indicators that address questions about the sustainability of water use and the contribution of the water environment to our overall quality of life. The development of indicators to date has concentrated on making the best use of available information. However, we now need to move from a position of "best available information" towards "best needed information". This will require better communication between information users and providers. It will also require a rethinking of exactly what our priority knowledge needs are to support policy-making and environmental management. This is essential if we are to obtain the best value from limited monitoring resources by eliminating the current redundancy in reporting requirements and refocusing programmes to deliver priority information needs. Electronic Publication