In: Daub CH, Burger P, Scherrer Y, editors. Creating Values for Sustainable Development. Proceedings of the 2nd International Sustainability Conference. Basel, pp 209-211
Transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge in the development of organic agriculture in Switzerland.
The highland–lowland system of the Upper Ewaso Ng'iro Basin, with Mount Kenya functioning as a crucial water tower, has reached and repeatedly exceeded the limits of water availability in the past decade. In contrast to the heavily decreasing low flow discharge, the mean discharge does not show any decreasing tendency. This is due to higher flood flows, which may be induced by accelerated runoff generation due to land use change. The present study seeks to support Water Users' Associations (WUAs, ie self-help initiatives aiming to mitigate conflicts over the allocation of water) by providing them with up-to-date information about demand, supply and use of river water, as well as tools and methods for improving water management.
Tajik Agrarian Academy Report Journal 1 (II): 75-83
Sustainable water management in the intermediate zone of the Sokuluk river basin, Tien-Shan, Kyrgyzstan – issues and options from an integrative perspective
Bakyt Askaraliev, 2008
In Russian
PhD thesis at the Kyrgyz Agrarian University, Bishkek
The paper presents the results of a multi-year baseline study project in which 10 sectors ranging from agriculture to natural hazards were assessed by a transdisciplinary Swiss–Tajik research team. This knowledge base was enhanced in a development strategy workshop that brought together stakeholders from the local to the international levels. The methodology applied was found appropriate to initiate a broad reflection and negotiation process among various stakeholder groups, leading to a joint identification of possible measures to be taken. Knowledge—and its enhancement through the involvement of all stakeholder levels—appeared to be an effective carrier of innovation and changes of attitudes, thus containing the potential to effectively contribute to sustainable development in marginalized and resource-poor mountain areas.
The goals of this study were on the one hand to generate knowledge on the status of and dynamics of the different dimensions of sustainability in the Tajik Pamirs. This process not only consisted of the compilation of features in the economic, socio-cultural and ecological spheres, but also included the appraisal and negotiation of development objectives by different stakeholders levels for a development strategy of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO). On the other hand this study was dedicated to appraise land resources problems, land degradation causes and sustainable land management opportunities from a stakeholder perspective. From a conceptual point of view, the research looked at knowledge at different stakeholder levels and its role for sustainable land management.
This study provides an integral analysis of the energy situation and its consequences for land and energy resource use in rural areas of the Tajik Pamirs. It focuses on three main topics: (1) Energy consumption patterns at household and village levels, (2) use of micro and mini hydropower stations and their potential to relieve pressure on local biomass fuels, and (3) land degradation related to unsustainable energy resource use.
The aim of this paper is to identify, document and analyse the change in land use systems as a consequence of the privatisation of agriculture in Kyrgyzstan.
Conference paper for the 24th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society July 23-27, 2006 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
The paper outlines a conceptual framework for a dynamic model for collective irrigation management. Furthermore a preliminary causal loop diagram for the interaction of upstream- and downstream users is presented. The study builds on the results of a workshop with local participants in Kyrgyzstan on sustainable regional development and on the literature on collective resource management.
Ducks, Rice and People – the Key to HPAI Risk in the Mekong Region.
Marius Gilbert, Stephen Boles, Prasit Chaitaweesub, Christina Czarnecki, Michael Epprecht, Wantanee Kalpravidh, Vincent Martin, Phan Q. Minh, Joachim Otte, Dirk U. Pfeiffer, Jan Slingenbergh, Xiangming Xiao, 2009
HPAI Research Brief No. 8
Mapping H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza risk in Southeast Asia
Marius Gilbert, Stephen Boles, Prasit Chaitaweesub, Christina Czarnecki, Michael Epprecht, Wantanee Kalpravidh, Vincent Martin, Phan Q. Minh, M. J. Otte, Dirk U. Pfeiffer, Jan Slingenbergh, Xiangming Xiao, 2008
"...This article analyses the statistical association between the recorded HPAI H5N1 virus presence and a set of five key environmental variables comprising elevation, human population, chicken numbers, duck numbers, and rice cropping intensity for three synchronous epidemic waves in Thailand and Vietnam. A consistent pattern emerges suggesting risk to be associated with duck abundance, human population, and rice cropping intensity in contrast to a relatively low association with chicken numbers..."
"This study was initiated with the aim of using long term monitoring data collected at two representative semi arid stations to examine the impact of biophysical environment (climate and soil) and cultivation method (with and without water conservation) on crop performance (growth and production). Using the knowledge gained from this analysis, the study evaluated and adapted the Agricultural Production Simulator (APSIM) model to develop a simulation tool for the production system practiced by the smallscale farmers in the study area. The adapted APSIM model was used to examine the impact of water conservation on maize growth and production."
Geoinformation und Informationsmanagement in Parks und Parkprojekten in der Schweiz
Vorabklärungen für den Aufbau eines Data Warehouse unter besonderer berücksichtigung der Geoinformationsdaten für Pärke von nationaler Bedeutung im Auftrag des Bundesamtes für Umwelt BAFU
Ruedi Haller, Madlene Nussbaum, Ronald Schmidt, Astrid Wallner, 2009
The Challenges of Nature Conservation in the Tajik National Park - Objectives versus Realities
"The present study seeks to generate a comparable information and knowledge base about land cover change on a mesoscale level for the entire Lower Mekong Basin. Such information is crucial to both informed decision making and the transboundary negotiations on the use and protection of the shared natural resources in regional bodies such as the Mekong River Commission. It may form the basis for achieving a common understanding regarding resource management in the Basin despite diverging national interests. [...]"
"In recent years, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have increasingly been used in a wide array of application contexts for development cooperation in lowlands and mountain areas. When used for planning, implementation, and monitoring, GIS is a versatile and highly efficient tool, particularly in mountain areas characterized by great spatial diversity and inaccessibility. However, the establishment and application of GIS in mountain regions generally presents considerable technical challenges. Moreover, it is necessary to address specific institutional and organizational issues regarding implementation."
Investigations on Land Cover and Land Use of Gorno Badakhshan (GBAO) by Means of Land Cover Classifications Derived from LANDSAT 7 Data Making Use of RemoteSensing and GIS Techniques
This thesis assesses land and vegetation resources in the Tajik Pamir Mountains with the help of land cover classification derived from LANDSAT ETM+ imagery acquired in summer 2000 and ancillary data sources.
In: Hurni H, Bantider A, Herweg K, Portner B, Veit, H, editors. Landscape Transformation and Sustainable Development in Ethiopia. Background information for a study tour through Ethiopia, 4-20 September 2006. Bern: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern.
Sensing Soil Properties in the Upper Ewaso Ng'iro Basin by means of Reflectance Spectroscopy and GIS
Conny Hett, 2005
Master's Thesis, University of Bern, Switzerland
This thesis is a proof of method study of the Soil Sensing Approach, a new approach for rapid assessment of soil properties using near-infrared spectroscopy. The study was carried out in a small tests area of ten by ten km in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro Basin, Kenya. The topical aim was to assess soil chemical properties in relation to land cover/land use. Through application of chemometric models soil carbon and nitrogen were predicted based on their near-infrared reflectance curves. CART classification and regression trees were used for modelling the two properties. It was shown that classification trees did not perform nearly as good on the samples as the regression trees. Finally relationships between land cover/land use and soil carbon and nitrogen were assessed and soil carbon and nitrogen showed very similar results. The good results of the Soil Sensing Approach make its use possible for mapping soil carbon and nitrogen properties using satellite imagery.
"The sustainable use of energy resources in semi-arid rural mountain areas is a common but still unresolved problem, often resulting in environmental degradation. In a post-Soviet setting the identification of possible solutions poses specific challenges. [...] The study revealed that the close interlinkage between local energy resource use and land degradation leads to a paradoxical situation in present energy consumption. The scarcer the local energy resource base, the higher the overall energy consumption at household level appears to be. It can further be concluded that since 1991 energy consumption patterns in the Tajik Pamirs have become comparable to patterns in semi-arid rural mountain regions of developing countries. Like many countries in the South, the Tajik Pamirs suffer from chronic energy scarcity, unsatisfactory supply of modern energy carriers and unsustainable use of local biomass fuels, leading to land degradation. This calls for a reassessment of the energy policy orientation for Tajikistan."
"Bildung und Forschung sind die Schlüssel zur nachhaltigen Linderung der Armut und Umweltzerstörung in den Ländern des Südens und Ostens. Der dazu nötige Kompetenzaufbau vor Ort zur selbständigen Lösung der Probleme ist das Ziel des Schweizerischen Nationalen Forschungsschwerpunkts Nord-Süd (NCCR North-South). Drei Jahre nach dem Start dieses neuartigen, auf 12 Jahre angelegten Programms hat sich die internationale Forschungspartnerschaft mit Ländern des Südens erfolgreich als eigenständiges Element der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit etabliert."
In: Bearth, Barbara Becker, Rolf Kappel, Gesine Krüger, Roger Pfister, editors. 2007. Thomas Afrika im Wandel. vdf Hochschulverlag AG, ETH Zürich, pp. 123-136
Soils on the global agenda: The report provides an overview of international actions concerned with sustainable land management, based on contributions from members of the IASUS (International Actions for the Sustainable Use of Soil) network made at the Eurosoil Symposium. It also aims to concretise possible follow-up actions. On the occasion of the ISRIC workshop “World Soils Issues and Sustainable Development” held on 10 March 2006, the creation of a World Soils Council (WSC) was initiated. The report presents in its final chapter the WSC’s proposed vision, objectives, and structure. The report was produced by IASUS, a working group of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), with support from CDE and financing from SDC. This publication is a follow-up of: A World Soils Agenda (2002)
Soils on the global agenda: The report provides an overview of international actions concerned with sustainable land management, based on contributions from members of the IASUS (International Actions for the Sustainable Use of Soil) network made at the Eurosoil Symposium. It also aims to concretise possible follow-up actions. On the occasion of the ISRIC workshop “World Soils Issues and Sustainable Development” held on 10 March 2006, the creation of a World Soils Council (WSC) was initiated. The report presents in its final chapter the WSC’s proposed vision, objectives, and structure. The report was produced by IASUS, a working group of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), with support from CDE and financing from SDC. This publication is a follow-up of: A World Soils Agenda
In: Hurni H, Bantider A, Herweg K, Portner B, Veit, H, editors. Landscape Transformation and Sustainable Development in Ethiopia. Background information for a study tour through Ethiopia, 4-20 September 2006. Bern: Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern.
Soil erosion and conservation in global agriculture
Land-use change is one of the main drivers of many environmental change processes. It influences the basic resources of land use, including the soil. Its impact on soil often occurs so creepingly that land managers hardly contemplate initiating ameliorative or counterbalance measures. Poor land management has degraded vast amounts of land, reduced our ability to produce enough food, and is a major threat to rural livelihoods in many developing countries.
To date, there has been no single unifying volume that addresses the multifaceted impacts of land use on soils. This book has responded to this challenge by bringing together renowned academics and policy experts to analyze the patterns, driving factors and proximate causes, and the socioeconomic impacts of soil degradation. Policy measures to prevent irreversible degradation and rehabilitate degraded soils are also identified.
In: Braimoh AK, Vlek PLG, editors. Land Use and Soil Resources. Dordrecht, The Netherlands; London, UK: Springer, pp 41–71.
Much concern has been raised about population increase in the highlands of Ethiopia and its potential to decrease runoff from the upper Nile Basin to the lowland countries of Sudan and Egypt. The present article examines long-term data on population, land use, land management, rainfall, and surface runoff rates from small test plots (30 m2) and micro-catchments (73–673 ha) in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Analysis and interpretation of data support the hypothesis that surface runoff and sediment yield from the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands into the upper Nile Basin have most probably increased in the long term due to intensified land use and land degradation induced by population increase, when seen in a historical perspective.
Soils on the global agenda: The report provides an overview of international actions concerned with sustainable land management, based on contributions from members of the IASUS (International Actions for the Sustainable Use of Soil) network made at the Eurosoil Symposium. It also aims to concretise possible follow-up actions. On the occasion of the ISRIC workshop “World Soils Issues and Sustainable Development” held on 10 March 2006, the creation of a World Soils Council (WSC) was initiated. The report presents in its final chapter the WSC’s proposed vision, objectives, and structure. The report was produced by IASUS, a working group of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), with support from CDE and financing from SDC. This publication is a follow-up of: A World Soils Agenda (2002)
"Famines are often linked to drought in semi-arid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa where not only pastoralists, but also increasingly agro-pastoralists are affected. This study addresses the interplay between drought and famine in the rural semi-arid areas of Makueni district, Kenya, by examining whether, and how crop production conditions and agro-pastoral strategies predispose smallholder households to drought-triggered food insecurity. If this hypothesis holds, then approaches to deal with drought and famine have to target factors causing household food insecurity during non-drought periods. Data from a longitudinal survey of 127 households, interviews, workshops, and daily rainfall records (1961–2003) were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. This integrated approach confirms the above hypothesis and reveals that factors other than rainfall, like asset and labour constraints, inadequate policy enforcement, as well as the poverty-driven inability to adopt risk-averse production systems play a key role. When linking these factors to the high rainfall variability, farmer-relevant definitions and forecasts of drought have to be applied."
This study analyses how gender relations shape vulnerability to drought in the semi-arid areas of Makueni District, Kenya. The study area is a marginal environment of low argicultural potential and poverty is widespread. The interplay and socio-economic pressures on agro-pastoral households, and the compulsion to conform or to be perceived as conforming to the prevailing gendered traditional rules and norms, influences the capabilities of men and women to secure their livelihoods in non-drought periods. In times of drought, gender relations also shape the coping strategies of women and men in various ways, and the impacts of drought on household welfare challenge the traditional roles of men.
Management Plan for the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn World Heritage Site
Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn World Heritage Association, 2005
Naters and Interlaken (Switzerland), Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn World Heritage Association
This Management Plan outlines measures to ensure the long-term preservation of the unique Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn (JAB) World Heritage Site and discusses ways in which its value can be leveraged by the surrounding region. The Management Plan addresses all groups within the administration, the general population, the business sector and civil society who are involved and
interested in the protection and use of the World Heritage Site and its surrounding region. It represents a binding obligation on the part of the JAB World Heritage Site Association to initiate and coordinate the implementation process.
"In recent decades, the Mount Kenya highland–lowland system, which includes the Ewaso Ngiro North Basin, has experienced complex ecological and socioeconomic dynamics. These are reflected in changing land use systems and practices as well as in a rapidly growing human population, especially in the footzones and adjacent lowlands. These changes have exerted unremitting pressure on water resources, especially because the demand for water by different user groups has continued to grow, against the backdrop of expensive alternative sources (rainwater and groundwater harvesting) and increasingly dwindling river water resources. As each of the user groups moves to make substantial claims to available river water, competition for the resource becomes even sharper, thus setting the stage for conflicts related to scarcity that intensify during the dry season, at times resulting in fatal physical conflicts among different user groups in the basin, especially between upstream and downstream users. Different approaches have been used to address these scarcity-related conflicts. The present article discusses Water Users' Associations as one of the most effective initiatives launched to address the problem of water use conflicts in the basin in the recent past."
"Kleinbäuerliche Besiedlung und die Ausprägung von Haushaltsstrategien am Mount Kenya" in: Jeanneret F, Wastl-Walter D, Wiesmann U, Schwyn M. editors. 2003. Welt der Alpen - Gebirge der Welt. Ressourcen, Akteure, Perspektiven. Bern: Haupt Verlag, pp. 185-196
Mountains are regularly a focus of international efforts to conserve the environment and promote sustainable development. The present article analyses the extent of protection in mountainous compared to non-mountainous areas, sheds light on the rationales behind the establishment of mountain protected areas, and proposes directions for future conservation endeavours with reference to mountain protected areas.
The present article documents increasing water abstraction and the difficulties in establishing limits for low flows such as the Q80 value (flow available on 80% of the days per year). The article also presents the role of Water Users' Associations (WUAs) in mitigating water conflicts related to over-abstraction. Evaluation of the activities of 13 WUAs showed that they solved 45 of 52 conflicts. WUAs are also involved in activities such as environmental education, awareness creation, improved irrigation practices, afforestation, and regulating water. The recent restructuring of the government ministry resulted in a formalized role for WUAs. Long-term data on availability, abstraction, and use of water are needed to mitigate water conflicts within and between WUAs, negotiate water allocation, and establish allocation thresholds.
Many types of problems caused by land degradation can be documented worldwide. The main natural resources affected are soils, water, natural vegetation, and wildlife; but cultivated plants are exposed to even greater damage, which poses a threat to food security as well. Soil degradation is one of the most crucial processes of land degradation and environmental change. Over a quarter of the world's agricultural land has been damaged by long-term soil degradation, corresponding to one-tenth of the earth's land surface.
Every day land users and soil and water conservation (SWC) specialists evaluate experience and generate know-how related to land management, improvement of soil fertility, and protection of soil resources. Most of this valuable knowledge, however, is not well documented or easily accessible, and comparison of different types of experience is difficult. The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) has the mission of providing tools that allow SWC specialists to share their valuable knowledge in soil and water management, assist them in their search for appropriate SWC technologies and approaches, and support them in making decisions in the field and at the planning level.
"Livestock production is a key livelihood strategy and a way of life for most smallholders in the Hindukush. Depending on ethnicity, access to land, labor force, and ecological conditions, small to large herds of goats, sheep, cattle and buffalo serve as a primary or secondary source of livelihood. Ongoing deterioration of environmental conditions — frequently due to overgrazing — and the depletion of timber and firewood resources — often linked to demographic and economic pressure both in the highlands and the lowlands—increasingly worsen living conditions. Alternative livelihood strategies and pathways to more sustainable natural resource use are needed. [...]"
"This paper highlights the spatial linkages of forest quality with poverty incidence and poverty density in Vietnam. Most of the Vietnamese poor live in densely populated river deltas and cities while remote upland areas have the highest poverty incidences, gaps, and severities. Forests of high local and global value are located in areas where relatively few poor people live, but where the incidence, gap, and severity of poverty are strongest, and where the livelihood strategies are based on agricultural and forest activities. Analysis was conducted combining country-wide spatial data on commune-level poverty estimates and the geographic distribution of forest quality. The results suggest the usefulness of targeting investments in remote areas that combine poverty reduction and environmental sustainability."
Lessons From Two Long-term Hydrological Studies in Kenya and Sri Lanka
D. N. Mungai, W. Elkaduwa, Boniface Kiteme, C. K. Ong, R. Sakthivadivel, 2004
The rate and characteristics of land use change in tropical watersheds due to changing demographic, economic and policy factors have important consequences for catchment health and environmental services. Few tropical watershed studies have lasted long enough to facilitate a credible analysis of the long-term effects of land use change on the environmental services provided by watersheds. This paper examines the driving forces and patterns of historical land use change in two long-term watershed studies in Kenya and Sri Lanka and their hydrological impacts.
Pre-conference Proceedings. University of Bern, Switzerland, 2–4 July 2008
NCCR North-South, 2008
NCCR North-South Dialogue, No. 21
Local Urban Observatory for Nakuru Municipality, Kenya
NCCR North-South, 2004
The Nakuru Local Urban Observatory Project aims at providing a framework for sustainable urban planning and management practices through building technical skills and improving participation of the various local stakeholders. To achieve this goal, a Local Urban Observatory (LUO) was created to stimulate the development of municipal spatial and environmental planning and management practices, informed by accurate, timely and accessible information.
"Migration patterns in Kenya in general differentially affect fertility levels, patterns and behaviour. For economically dynamic areas, out-migration and the associated spousal separation and differential sex ratios seem to be associated with falling fertility, though migration is not the only or even the principal factor involved. In lagging and/or peripheral areas, by contrast, the demographic effect of migration seems to promote high fertility by undermining some critical factors of fertility determinants and behaviour. Examples from Africa in general and Kenya in particular are invoked to examine and explain this important association between migration and fertility. Furthermore, the paper incorporates the geography of economic and social development to help understand the relationship between migration and fertility."
"The present paper discusses a conceptual, methodological and practical framework within which the limitations of the conventional notion of natural resource management (NRM) can be overcome. NRM is understood as the application of scientific ecological knowledge to resource management. By including a consideration of the normative imperatives that arise from scientific ecological knowledge and submitting them to public scrutiny, ‘sustainable management of natural resources’ can be recontextualised as ‘sustainable governance of natural resources’. This in turn makes it possible to place the politically neutralising discourse of ‘management’ in a space for wider societal debate, in which the different actors involved can deliberate and negotiate the norms, rules and power relations related to natural resource use and sustainable development. [...]"
In: Haverkort B, Rist S, editors. Endogenous Development and Bio-cultural Diversity. The interplay of worldview, globalization and locality. COMPAS series on Worldviews and Sciences Nr. 6. Leusden, Netherlands: Co-edition COMPAS-CDE-University of Bern, p. 14-23.
The Role of Social Learning Processes in the Emergence and Development of Aymara Land Use Systems
"A typical traditional Andean land-use system was analyzed as the outcome of long-term social learning processes. From this perspective the land-use system is the result of coevolution between society and nature, representing a successive embodiment of ethical principles corresponding to different periods in history. Ethical principles, understood in this study as the main values in which social and spiritual life is rooted, emerge from and are shaped by a process of dialogue between the local worldview and external historical influences. The degree of differentiation among ethical values corresponding to different stages of local history greatly depends on the type of cognitive competence developed by members of a community. The interplay between cognitive competence and concrete social action develops through a system of rotating duties aimed at lifelong learning and development of social competence derived from the ethical principles of the Andean worldview. The equilibrium between cognitive and social competencies creates social coherence, which was and still is necessary for withstanding moments of crisis and conflict. The learning process evolve from single- to double-loop learning, meaning that an individualized understanding of the epistemological basis of ethical values becomes a clear priority. This allows time to experiment with the land-use system as part of a social learning process. The positive conditions supporting social learning processes were a nondualistic worldview, local autonomy and self-determination in social and religious–spiritual life, territorial and productive organization, low levels of formalization of norms, deliberative rather than formal democratic decision making, and a combination of increasingly reflective attitudes and development of specific social competencies among all members of the community."
From the Princely State of Swat and Kalam to the State of Pakistan
Sultan-i- Rome, 2008
The historic Swat valley in the North-West Frontier-Province (NWFP) of Pakistan and its adjoining area were covered in forest since the earliest times. The nineteenth century proved a turning point in respect to the exploitation of these forests when some outsiders, mostly Kaka Khel Mians, started to exploit the forest in the area and extracted timber for export.
Research into the present-day forest issues in NWFP has always recognised the importance of the historical past. However, very little was known about the details of forestry in the areas that comprised the princely state of Swat, and Kalam - both before and during the period of the Princely State of Swat.
The objective of the present study is to cover in detail the Walis period from 1947 till 1969 and also the post-State period; and to show how forests have been managed and used in the Swat State areas and Kalam during the period 1947-2005.
WP2/IP6 Working Paper No. 9.
Zurich: Department of Geography, University of Zurich
“Buscando un Camino” - Potenciales y Limitaciones en el Fortalecimiento de Innovaciones Locales del Pueblo Kampu Piyawi (Shawi)
"Fortalecimiento de la organización comunal: estrategia para la conservación y regeneración de bosques andino" in: Delgado F, Serrano E, Bilbao J. editors. 2004. Agroforesteria en Latinoaméria: Experiencias Locales, Cochabamba, MALEA- AGRUCO, pp. 41-50.
Impact of Conservation and Development Interventions on Livelihoods and Forest Resources Management in Pangani River Basin: A Case of Muheza District, Tanzania
Mwembe Uhuru , 2009
Master thesis at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
"[...] The combined and participatory approach suggested in this paper describes how a more tangible, quantifiable relationship can be established between individual plant and community level processes. Such an approach, which involves herders in expert assessment and data collection, enables better monitoring and forecasting of those changes in plant community composition that are relevant for livestock husbandry and sustainable resource use. In this study, the highest dry matter production (DMP) was recorded at altitudes between 1200 m (with 1945 kg/ha) and 1600 m (with 1921 kg/ha). In “freely grazed rangeland”—where access is not limited and no manual improvement measures are taken—the proportion of palatable forage species is much lower than in “fenced rangeland,” where access is limited and the stocking rate reduced to one third. Such integrated assessment of rangeland conditions ultimately provides the baseline for evaluating changes in ecosystems over time; it also provides a sound basis for negotiation among stakeholders with different interests."
Proceedings of the Conference on Resources, their Dynamics and Sustainability – Capacity Development in Comparative and Integrative Approaches. 13-17 Sept 2004
Mitigating Conflicts Over Scarce Water Resources in the Highland-lowland System of Mount Kenya
The Mount Kenya region offers a great deal of beautiful scenery and attracts tourists from all over the world. What these tourists may not see, however, is the crucial function of Mount Kenya as a water tower for its footzones and adjoining lowland areas. This function is becoming ever more crucial, as populations in these areas are growing at a rapid pace and new land use systems require far more water. These developments have set the stage for increasing conflicts over water resources; to make things worse, water is becoming ever scarcer, especially in the dry areas of the Laikipia Plateau and the Samburu Plains to the north and west of the mountain. This article summarizes the complex ecological and socioeconomic dynamics prevailing in the highland-Blowland system of Mount Kenya—the Ewaso Ng'iro North Basin—and presents a multilevel strategy for mitigating the emerging conflicts over water resources.
The soil sensing approach was developed for the rapid assessment of soil quality over large areas. It intends to provide assistance for large area soil surveillance. The approach combines information from soil reflectance measurements, laboratory soil analysis, field and remotely sensed observations.
This paper gives a detailed description of field sampling process, building and making use of spectral libraries, and modelling soil conditions for large areas. Moreover, it also provides information on statistical methods and the used statistical programs for the soil sensing approach.
Lake Tana Basin (LTB) is the uppermost part of the Blue Nile River Basin in Ethiopia. The 15,000 km2 headwater is a main water source of the Blue Nile and a place of ancient agriculture and human settlement. Understanding problems related to land resource changes requires detailed examination of the factors in a pressure-state response framework (see Birru Yitaferu 2007).
Poster presented at the International Conference on Research for Development (ICRD), National Centre of Competence in Research NCCR North-South, University of Bern. 02-04 July 2008, Bern.
The NCCR North-South is hosted by the University of Bern
and funded jointly by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
