Stakeholder Analysis of a Collaborative Watershed Management Process: A Florida Case Study1

Borisova, Tatiana, Laila Racevskis, and Jennison Kipp, 2012. Stakeholder Analysis of a Collaborative Watershed Management Process: A Florida Case Study. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(2): 277‐296. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00615.x Abstract: This study focuses on a Florida watershed where development of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) and its implementation plan resulted in conflicts among stakeholders. The overall goal is to build a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions of water quality problems, water policy processes and decisions, and water management plan development in a region where these issues have become contentious. Findings are based on a stakeholder analysis using qualitative data collected through focus groups with agricultural producers, local governments, and environmental groups, and supplemented with additional qualitative data on the watershed management process. Stakeholder conflicts in this case study are associated with perceived flaws in the structural and procedural characteristics of the stakeholder involvement process: (1) suboptimal watershed stakeholder representation on the TMDL executive committee, (2) an inappropriate voting procedure for making TMDL decisions, (3) limitations in information sharing between regulatory agencies and watershed stakeholders, and (4) stakeholders’ doubts about whether tradeoffs associated with achieving the water quality targets were assessed adequately throughout the TMDL planning and implementation process. This study contributes to the literature on collaborative watershed management by analyzing stakeholder involvement given Florida’s unique institutional settings, where implementation of TMDL pollution abatement is mandatory.     

Atrazine biodegradation modulated by clays and clay/humic acid complexes

The fate of pesticides in the environment is strongly related to the soil sorption processes that control not only their transfer but also their bioavailability. Cationic (Ca-bentonite) and anionic (Layered Double Hydroxide) clays behave towards the ionisable pesticide atrazine (AT) sorption with opposite tendencies: a noticeable sorption capacity for the first whereas the highly hydrophilic LDH showed no interactions with AT. These clays were modified with different humic acid (HA) contents. HA sorbed on the clay surface and increased AT interactions. The sorption effect on AT biodegradation and on its metabolite formation was studied with Pseudomonas sp. ADP. The biodegradation rate was greatly modulated by the material's sorption capacity and was clearly limited by the desorption rate. More surprisingly, it increased dramatically with LDH. Adsorption of bacterial cells on clay particles facilitates the degradation of non-sorbed chemical, and should be considered for predicting pesticide fate in the environment.     

Assessing the value of species: a case study on the willingness to pay for species protection in Chile

We conduct a valuation of species protection in central Chile's Campana National Park (CNP) using the choice experiment (CE) method. The CNP has been recognized as having global relevance for the conservation of biological diversity. Specifically, the aim is to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of park visitors for protection of different protected species in the area: popular species of flora and fauna that are known by visitors of the park, inconspicuous species (phytofagous, fungus) that are unknown to visitors, and species with conservation problems of which visitors are unaware. We also investigate the WTP for different levels of species biodiversity protection within the sample as the WTP for biodiversity protection is sensitive to the way in which biodiversity is presented to respondents. The levels of species biodiversity protection are represented using “icon” inconspicuous species and numbers of inconspicuous species protected in La Campana National Park. This methodology allowed us to obtain information on the sensitivity of the participants to the scope of the information provided. Overall, visitors attach positive and significant values to the local conservation of species. These values are derived not only from the desire to preserve popular species in the area but also from the preservation or assured existence of inconspicuous species that are protected in the park. Visitors behave as consumers who are sensitive to changes in the price of park admission as a result of the implementation of specific strategies for wildlife conservation management in the park. Furthermore, the study also elucidates the observations that the public is able to perceive biodiversity conservation in broader terms than a single species and that greater benefits are attached to the conservation of multiple species than single ones. Results also provide insights into methodological considerations regarding the conceptual framework used to assess the valuation of biodiversity changes in developing countries, including the level of biological diversity and the scale of the change.     

Time-dependency of the Cs contamination of wild boar from a region in Southern Germany in the years 1998 to 2008

Following the Chernobyl accident, ¹³⁷Cs contamination levels of wild boar in some districts of Southern Germany are still exceeding thousands of Bq kg⁻¹. While the long term ¹³⁷Cs concentration in forest plants, mushrooms, and roe deer meat has decreased significantly, for wild boar it has remained constant during the last decade. Between 1998 and 2008, we analysed the muscle meat of 656 wild boars shot in the district (“Landkreis”) Ravensburg. The ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration showed considerable variability from less than 5 up to 8266 Bq kg⁻¹ and it followed a seasonal pattern, which is attributed to changes in dietary habits, fodder availability, meteorological conditions and specific behaviour of ¹³⁷Cs in wild boar organism. T_ag values for wild boars from the district Ravensburg varied from 0.008 to 0.062 m² kg⁻¹ during 2000–2008.     

Genetic biomonitoring of an urban population exposed to mutagenic airborne pollutants

Biomonitoring studies have increased as a consequence of risks and effects to human health on exposure to environmental contaminants, mainly air pollutants. Genetic biomarkers are useful tools for the early assessment of exposure to occupational and environmental pollution. The objective of the present study was to investigate genotoxic effects on people residing and/or working downwind from an oil refinery in southern Brazil and the mutagenic activity of airborne particulate matter (PM10). Samples of peripheral blood and buccal mucosa cells were evaluated using the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay) and the micronucleus (MN) assay, respectively. PM10 samples were collected in the target site and the organic matter extraced with dichloromethane was assessed for mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay. The exposed group (n = 37) was compared to a reference group (n = 37) of subjects living in an urban area with limited traffic and industrial influence, located far from the main industrial areas. All PM10 organic extracts showed mutagenic positive responses and the effect decreased in the presence of S9 mix indicating that the predominant compounds present were direct-acting mutagens. The responses of YGs strains are consistent with aromatic amines and nitroarenes being present in the PM10 extracts. The group in the area under the influence of the oil refinery (exposed group) showed significantly higher DNA damage in lymphocytes than the reference group. The MN frequencies in buccal mucosa were very low for both groups and no difference between groups was observed. No association was found between age and tobacco smoking habit and level of DNA damages measured by the comet assay. The results indicate that the comet assay was a sensitive tool to detect DNA damage in subjects under the influence of an oil refinery, with marked genotoxic activity in the atmospheric environment.     

The effect of air pollution and other environmental stressors on leaf fluctuating asymmetry and specific leaf area of Salix alba L

We aimed at evaluating the effect of low-level air pollution on leaf area fluctuating asymmetry (FAA) and specific leaf area (SLA) of Salix alba L., taking into account other environmental factors. Cuttings were grown in standardized conditions in the near vicinity of air quality measuring stations in Belgium. Variability of SLA and FAA between measuring stations explained 83% and 7.26%, respectively, of the total variability. FAA was not influenced by air pollution or environmental factors such as shading, herbivory, air temperature and humidity. SLA was increased by an increase in shadow, while NO_x and O₃ concentrations had only a marginal influence. The influence of SO₂ concentration was negligible. Although our data analysis suggests a relationship between SLA and NO_x/O₃ concentration, the absence of a straightforward relationship between FAA and SLA and air pollution still questions the usefulness of these bio-indicators for monitoring air pollution.     

A Benefit‐Cost Analysis of Total Maximum Daily Load Implementation1

Abstract: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation generates benefits and costs from water quality improvements, which are rarely quantified. This analysis examines a TMDL written to address bacteria and aquatic‐life‐use impairments on Abrams and Opequon Creeks in Virginia. Benefits were estimated using a contingent valuation survey of local residents. Costs were based on the number and type of best management practices (BMPs) necessary to achieve TMDL pollution reduction goals. BMPs were quantified using watershed‐scale water quality simulation models (Generalized Watershed Loading Function and Hydrological Simulation Program‐FORTRAN). Based on our projections, the costs to achieve TMDL induced pollution reduction goals outweigh the estimated benefits. Benefit‐cost ratios ranged between 0.1 and 0.3.     

Knowledge Production and Learning for Sustainable Landscapes: Forewords by the Researchers and Stakeholders

This special issue of AMBIO presents a new approach to sustainability science that goes beyond interdisciplinary research. Using coupled natural and human systems, or landscapes, as multiple case studies in Europe’s East and West knowledge production and learning toward transdisciplinary research was applied in Sweden, countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia. First, the research group Forest-Landscape-Society summarizes the research program (2005–2012) behind this special issue of AMBIO and its development to participate in transdisciplinary research. Second, stakeholders at multiple levels provide their views on the new approach presented and reported.     

Distribution and temporal variation of trace metal enrichment in surface sediments of San Jorge Bay, Chile

Cu, Pb, and Hg concentrations were determined in surface sediment samples collected at three sites in San Jorge Bay, northern Chile. This study aims to evaluate differences in their spatial distribution and temporal variability. The highest metal concentrations were found at the site “Puerto”, where minerals (Cu and Pb) have been loaded for more than 60 years. On the other hand, Hg does not pose a contamination problem in this bay. Cu and Pb concentrations showed significant variations from 1 year to another. These variations seem to be a consequence of the combination of several factors, including changes in the loading and/or storage of minerals in San Jorge Bay, the dredging of bottom sediments (especially at Puerto), and seasonal changes in physical–chemical properties of the water column that modify the exchange of metals at the sediment–water interface. Differences in the contamination factor and geoaccumulation index suggest that pre-industrial concentrations measured in marine sediments of this geographical zone, were better than geological values (average shale, continental crust average) for evaluating the degree of contamination in this coastal system. Based on these last two indexes, San Jorge Bay has a serious problem of Cu and Pb pollution at the three sampling locations. However, only Cu exceeds the national maximum values used to evaluate ecological risk and the health of marine environments. It is suggested that Chilean environmental legislation for marine sediment quality—presently under technical discussion—is not an efficient tool for protecting the marine ecosystem.