Local Cultural Knowledge and Water Resource Management: The Wind River Indian Reservation

Ecology and culture comprise interacting components of landscapes. Understanding the integrative nature of the landscape is essential to establish methods for sustainable management. This research takes as a unifying theme the idea that ecological and cultural issues can be incorporated through management. As a first step in developing integrative management strategies, information must be collected that compares and contrasts ecological and cultural issues to identify their areas of intersection. Specifically how can local cultural knowledge enable water resource management that reflects cultural and ecological values? This research examines Native American cultural knowledge for setting water resource management priorities in the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. A cross-cultural approach is adopted to assess the relationship between indigenous cultural knowledge and Euro-American perspectives through a comparative examination of the Wind River Water Code and Wyoming Water Law. This research indicates that cultural perspectives provide a rich arena in which to examine management issues. Understanding and identifying cultural practices may be an important first step in collaborative resource management between different cultural groups to prevent conflict and lengthy resolution in court.     

TUGAI: An Integrated Simulation Tool for Ecological Assessment of Alternative Water Management Strategies in a Degraded River Delta

The development of ecologically sound water allocation strategies that account for the needs of riverine ecosystems is a pressing issue, especially in semiarid river basins. In the Aral Sea Basin, a search for strategies to mitigate ecological and socioeconomic deterioration has been in process since the early 1990s. The Geographic Information System–based simulation tool TUGAI has been developed to support the policy determination process by providing a simple, problem-oriented method to assess ecological effects of alternative water management strategies for the Amudarya River. It combines a multiobjective water allocation model with simple, spatially explicit statistical and rule-based models of landscape dynamics. Changes in environmental conditions are evaluated by a fuzzy habitat suitability index for Populus euphratica, which is the dominant species of the characteristic riverine Tugai forests. Water management scenarios can be developed by altering spatiotemporal water distribution in the delta area or the amount of water inflow into the delta. Outcomes of scenario analysis are qualitative comparisons of the ecological effects of different options for a time period of up to 28 years. The given approach utilizes different types of knowledge, from quantitative hydrological data to qualitative local expert knowledge. The main purpose of the tool is to integrate the knowledge in a comprehensive way to make it available for discussions on alternative policies in moderated workshops with stakeholders. In this article, the modules of the tool, their integration, and three hypothetical scenarios are presented. Based on the experience gained when developing the TUGAI tool, we propose that the general framework can be transferred to other areas where tradeoffs in water allocation between the environment and other water users are of major concern. The potential for a simulation tool to structure and inform a complex resource management situation by involving local experts and stakeholders in the development of possible future scenarios will become increasingly valuable for transparent and participatory resource management.     

Ecological approach to resource survey and planning for environmentally significant Areas: The ABC method

A resource survey and planning method for parks, reserves, and other environmentally significant areas (ESAs) is presented in the context of a holistic balanced approach to land use and environmental management. This method provides a framework for the acquisition, analysis, presentation, and application of diverse ecological data pertinent to land use planning and resource management within ESAs. Through the independent analysis and subsequent integration of abiotic, biotic, and cultural or ABC information, land areas within an ESA are identified in terms of their relative environmental significance and environmental constraints. The former term encompasses wildlife, historic, and other resource values, while the latter term reflects biophysical hazards and sensitivities, and land use conflicts. The method thus calls for a matching of an ESA's distinctive attributes with appropriate land use and institutional arrancements through an analysis of available acts, regulations, agencies, and other conservation and land use management mechanisms. The method culminates with a management proposal showing proposed park or reserve allocations, buffer areas, or other land use controls aimed at preserving an ESA's special ecological qualities, while providing for resource development. The authors suggest that all resource management decisions affecting ESA's should be governed by a philosophical stance that recognizes a spectrum of broad land use types, ranging from preservation to extractive use and rehabilitation.     

Planning for change and sustainability in water development in Lao PDR and the Mekong River basin

With its recent opening to the global market economy, the natural resources of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR, referred to in this paper as Laos) – especially its water resources–have attracted external interest and investment. The overall level of water development is low. While even modest development would help Laos meet some of its urgent needs, past experience in Southeast Asia and other tropical regions suggests that fast-paced water development may damage the natural resource base. This article examines some efforts in water development from Southeast Asia and other regions and their relevance to water policy formulation in Laos. Future social and environmental changes in Laos are inevitable, but the nature and direction of these changes are uncertain. It thus makes sense to design policies that are flexible and can be adjusted to, and even take advantage of, a changing social and environmental context. Smaller-scale, deliberately-paced projects which merge local knowledge and external expertise fulfil the requirements of flexibility and adjustability, and are also appropriate for other important reasons: they do not require massive inputs of funding, and they do not initiate large-scale environmental and socio-economic changes. Current knowledge of the complex ecological and social systems in Laos is only sketchy. A slower-paced development will allow developers the necessary time to learn more about these important aspects.     

CULTURAL ASPECTS OF WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PAST,PRESENT, AND FUTURE1

ABSTRACT Attitudes toward the development of the American West have undergone important changes over the past century just as the nature of water resources as factors in development have changed. Viewing these changes processually, stages for water resources definition and use can be identified in the total process of western cultural development. The first stage involves the value of water resource development as a stimulus to population and economic growth in the West. The second stage, still in process', adopts a dominant cultural norm which sees water resource development as inevitable if not necessary to keep up with growth. A third stage to this evolutionary process is incipient. Future cultural values and thinking with respect to water resource development will be to look at development as a means for controlling or managing both the location and quantity of population and economic growth. To this end planners will have to become concerned with the questions of human adaptation. Concern will have to be given to the problems of getting a living which enables individuals to meet the subsistence needs of self and family, to establishing community which provides for cooperation among individuals and the management of conflict, to establishing improved communication which promotes interpersonal interaction, and for fostering innovation which provides the new ideas necessary to adapt to new environmental situations.,     

Assessing the ecological security of the Tibetan plateau: methodology and a case study for Lhaze County

A system for assessing the ecological security of Lhaze County in China's Tibetan Autonomous Region was developed using a pressure-state-response model and the analytic hierarchy process. We then used this model to comprehensively evaluate the status of ecological security in Lhaze County. Our results showed that the ecological environment in Lhaze County has deteriorated from an 'early stages of damage status' in the 1980s to 'moderately damaged status' today. This deterioration has become a major barrier to local economic development and social advancement. Natural and social aspects related to the population explosion, resource exploitation, and climate change that led to this ecological deterioration are discussed. Furthermore, we have suggested proposals for improving the ecological environment that include controlling population growth and enhancing the system of laws that protect the environment, upgrading 3 882.6 ha of low-yield farmland, planting 2 425.8, 548.8, and 1 207.4 ha of shelter belts for farmland protection, soil and water conservation, and fuelwood, respectively, and seeding 2 358.1 ha of artificial grassland. In the meantime, we propose strengthening the controls that limit soil and water loss, and optimizing industrial sectors that aspire to achieve high-efficiency, ecologically responsible agriculture.     

长株潭城市群生态宜居水平综合评价

随着长株潭城市群工业化进程加快,其经济发展水平和城镇化水平得到飞速的提升,但是生态环境和宜居环境受到较大影响.基于层次分析法,从生态环境、资源节约、公共配套、社会民生4个维度构建生态宜居综合评价指标体系,综合测度2010～2018年长株潭城市群的生态宜居水平.结果显示2010～2018年间,长株潭城市群生态宜居综合水平...     

Transhumance in Central Anatolia: A Resilient Interdependence Between Biological and Cultural Diversity

Transhumance is a resource efficient means of livestock production by seasonally moving grazing animals to utilize pastures between varying ecological zones. This article investigated the interrelationship between the environmental services the transhumant provides whilst maintaining its cultural heritage and theorized what the cultural and environmental impacts would be if the practice of transhumance were to vanish. The authors interviewed 45 transhumant families during their 2015 seasonal migration through the Taurus Mountains and in their settled tent sites in Central Anatolia. The interview topics related to geography of the region, migration routes, natural resource constraints and opportunities, animal husbandry, grazing strategies and their income sources. By practicing agro-ecological principles over millennia, the research showed that the transhumant has helped shape a complex mosaic of habitats in one of Mediterranean’s most interesting ecosystems. The mobile pastoralist with conservation and natural resource management skills over a long period has reduced erosion control, improved soil quality and deterred the likelihood of forest fires, whilst weaving a resilient social web. The survey also indicated a clear link between social and ecological resilience emphasizing that sustainable development relies on the interconnectedness between biological and cultural diversity. The study recommends special provisions be made by the Turkish government for the educational needs for the children of the transhumant, provide initiatives for improved trading of their produce, introduce law enforcement for oppressive behavior against them and finally support the pastoralists to attain world heritage listing as a unique and an irreplaceable culture for the future welfare of humankind.     

水资源多目标协同配置:全价值基础上的框架研究

从资源的视角而言,水资源具有的社会、经济、生态属性中,社会属性和生态属性所提供的生态功能和服务多是外部性和非市场的,其价值在纯粹的市场驱动下难以充分实现。从资源管理视角而言,水资源多目标协同配置的实质是水资源多重属性功能和服务的均衡。因此,将具有外部性的社会、生态功能和服务与具有经济价值的功能和服务同时纳入配置框架,是实现多目标协同配置实践的关键问题。本文在回顾水资源配置和水资源非市场价值评估的相关研究的基础上,围绕我国现行水资源配置存在的主要问题,通过水资源的全价值(市场价值和非市场价值)将其多属性功能和公众意愿纳入水资源多目标协同配置中,从水资源管理信息系统、全价值评估和配置管理的绩效评价三个方面构建了水资源配置的多目标协同框架,最后提出相关的保障政策建议。     

The Wild Kangaroo Industry: Developing the Potential for Sustainability

Wildlife resources the world over have long been subject to harvest and management. As wildlife uses have grown, so too have the need and desire to ensure their sustainability. This new context of sustainability presents opportunities to merge ecological, economic and social elements to foster development. This paper presents the management and harvesting of wild kangaroos as an example of the potentially sustainable use of a natural resource. Some comparisons are drawn between the use of other wild living resources, deer in Europe and crayfish in Western Australia. However, sustainability of kangaroo species and the industry is not just a matter of market economics and ecology, it must also be socially sustainable. The public policy instrument of a statutory advisory board with a marketing function is proposed in order to integrate the cultural and social aspects of kangaroo management with the economic and ecological aspects. Through such integration, full sustainability of a wild resource then might be achieved.     

邛海生态环境问题及保护对策研究

邛海是四川省第二大天然淡水湖,具有饮用水源、栖息地、水产品供给、人文景观等多种生态功能。长期以来由于不合理的开发和利用,邛海生态环境遭到污染和破坏,出现了面源污染严重、区域水质恶化、泥沙淤积、湿地萎缩、面积减少等环境问题,发展与保护矛盾突出,生态环境保护的压力加重。本文针对流域主要环境问题,探讨并提出了邛海生态环境保护以湖泊生态安全保障为目标,以饮用水源水质安全保障和生态保育为核心,实施生态调控、污染防治与生态恢复并举的科学对策。     

Putting transdisciplinarity into practice: a mixed mode procedure for stakeholder participation in natural resource management

The definition of management actions in natural resource management requires the integration of all types of knowledge involved. An appropriate approach for such a challenge is the ideal of transdisciplinarity. A transdisciplinary process can be considered “consultative” when knowledge is simply gathered and collated, or “participatory” when knowledge integration is undertaken collectively. In this paper, we present a mixed mode procedure (i.e., using interviews, questionnaires, and group discussions) that empirically demonstrates the difference between consultative and participatory transdisciplinary processes. The mixed mode procedure is used for identifying the most relevant problems occurring in the coastal system of Praia da Vitória bay, Azores, Portugal. This mixed mode procedure is likely to be useful for other studies, because the results highlight the need to promote face-to-face interaction at the earliest opportunity, and because it allows an understanding to be gained of social learning processes, the influence of power, and participant behaviour during interaction with others.     

Protest,politics and produce: a resource account of anti-genetically modified organism activism

Activism research is over-reliant on social psychological frameworks emphasising framing or ideological-based explanations. The current underdevelopment of resource-based accounts requires urgent attention from social movement scholars. Stressing the rationality of social movement actors, resource mobilisation theory is used to assess and understand the empirical validity of resource-driven social mobilisation. Anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) activism in France is selected as a uniquely ripe context for exploring resource mobilisation. A resource-based examination reveals why, when and how key anti-GMO movement actors differentiated their strategies on the basis of protest, politics and produce. A new framework is proposed to encompass key variables around material, human and network-based resources. It is argued that resource mobilisation research designs need to move beyond financially driven causal arguments.     

论信息与城乡一体化

首先重新归纳了城乡一体化的内涵,然后通过具体分析信息与城乡经济发展、信息与三大市场、信息与城乡生态环境建设、信息与城乡社会、文化融合等来阐述了信息推进城乡一体化进程的作用机理,最后提出6条建议来促进城乡一体化。     

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACCOUNTING APPLIED TO WATER RESOURCE PLANNING1

ABSTRACT The growing social consciousness and concern with human well-being has resulted in numerous water resource use and control programs, the results of which must be measured not in the customary monetary terms, but rather in terms of social and human welfare. Interdisciplinary research offers the greatest promise of yielding fruitful results in establishing planning methodology that would result in a maximum utilization of funds available for water resource programs. Working with the various social science disciplines, accountants have begun research in social measurement thus opening the door to a new field of accountancy known as socio-economic accounting. The development of social accounting systems will improve water resource management by projecting heretofore unmeasureable social values into the management decision making process.     

西北地区生态用水的探讨

我国西北地区多处于干旱气候带，水资源匮乏，生态环境脆弱。为实施西北地区生态恢复与重建，必须合理开发和利用该区有限的水资源，科学地确定社会用水同生态用水的比例，积极保证生态用水，合理利用生态用水，注重生态用水的多重效益。结合西北干旱区实际情况，就这一地区生态用水的开发和利用做了分析阐述。     

Preliminary Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Great Western Development Strategy: Safeguarding Ecological Security for a New Western China

The Great Western Development Strategy (GWDS) is a long term national campaign aimed at boosting development of the western area of China and narrowing the economic gap between the western and the eastern parts of China. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) procedure was employed to assess the environmental challenges brought about by the western development plans. These plans include five key developmental domains (KDDs): water resource exploitation and use, land utilization, energy generation, tourism development, and ecological restoration and conservation. A combination of methods involving matrix assessment, incorporation of expert judgment and trend analysis was employed to analyze and predict the environmental impacts upon eight selected environmental indicators: water resource availability, soil erosion, soil salinization, forest destruction, land desertification, biological diversity, water quality and air quality. Based on the overall results of the assessment, countermeasures for environmental challenges that emerged were raised as key recommendations to ensure ecological security during the implementation of the GWDS. This paper is intended to introduce a consensus-based process for evaluating the complex, long term pressures on the ecological security of large areas, such as western China, that focuses on the use of combined methods applied at the strategic level.     

Participation, Process Quality, and Performance of Marine Protected Areas in the Wider Caribbean

Throughout the wider Caribbean, marine protected areas (MPAs) are rapidly gaining momentum as a conservation tool, but management performance of existing MPAs is considered low. To enhance MPA management performance, stakeholders are increasingly being invited to discuss, debate, and develop rules about how people should interact with marine ecosystems. Using social and ecological data from a rapid assessment of 31 MPAs and their associated communities in the wider Caribbean, this study investigates stakeholder participation in MPA planning and management, and how participants' views of process quality relate to MPA performance. Findings indicate that (1) participants tended to be male, resource users, participate in community organizations, and have lived fewer years in the community associated with an MPA than non-participants; (2) simply participating was not associated with perceptions of the social and ecological performance of MPAs, however, perceptions of process quality were positively related to views of performance; and (3) resource users' perceptions of an MPA's ecological performance were likely shaped by a variety of factors. Conservation practitioners should be aware that participatory MPA processes are complex and require careful planning if they are to contribute positively to marine conservation efforts.     

Global localism: Recentering the research agenda for biodiversity conservation

Global environmental crisis narratives about biodiversity loss promote conservation research on how human activities impact natural resources and link scientific findings to protectionist policies. This paper critiques how local knowledge, over space and through time, is constructed for these studies and integrated with ecological measures and qualitative interpretations of biodiversity conditions. As a case example, we describe how ethnoecological research at Mt. Kasigau, a biodiversity hot spot in Southeastern Kenya, changes ‘scientific’ views on human–resource relations. Species richness in woody plants and local knowledge about trees show resource continua on the mountain that question the designation of diverse undisturbed forests and degraded human‐utilized lands. Local narratives document spatially dynamic and adaptive relationships between the Kasigau Taita and their plant resources as they moved up and down the mountain in response to environmental conditions and extra local forces. We argue that greater ‘local learning’ about local places is important to hypothesizing and potentially guiding ‘global action’ for biodiversity conservation.     

WATER AND ENERGY IN THE WESTERN COAL LANDS1

ABSTRACT: Problems of water quality and quantity are critical to development of the energy resources of the Western U. S. Based on a number of independent measures, the Upper Colorado River Basin will experience severe water availability problems in a few decades if projected energy and agricultural development occurs. Given the impending collision between the competing interests of various Western water users, water resource management and conservation deserves the utmost attention. Substantial opportunities for conservation exist in energy and agricultural development. Selection of both conversion and cooling technologies and careful siting decisions can sharply reduce the water requirements of energy development. Agricultural water conservation strategies include improving irrigation and cultivation practices, removing phreatophytes, removing marginal lands from production, and changing crop patterns. In order to accomplish significant conservation, however, there must be changes in those aspects of Western water law that remove conservation incentives from the water use system.