Human activity has modified and deteriorated natural ecosystems in ways that reduce resilience an... more Human activity has modified and deteriorated natural ecosystems in ways that reduce resilience and exacerbate environmental and climate problems. Physical measures to protect, manage and restore these ecosystems that also address societal challenges in sustainable ways and bring biodiversity benefits are sometimes referred to as “nature-based solutions” (NBS). For example, reducing deforestation and restoring forests is a major opportunity for climate mitigation, while protecting or restoring coastal habitats can mitigate damage to coastal areas from natural hazard events, in addition to potentially providing co-benefits related to livelihood, recreation, and biodiversity. There is now an impetus to shift towards greater deployment of nature-based solutions. Not only do they offer an alternative to conventional fossil fuel-based or hard infrastructure solutions but, if implemented correctly, they also hold great promise for achieving multiple goals, benefits and synergies. These inc...
En el presente artículo se muestran algunos resultados de la primera fase del estudio Plataforma ... more En el presente artículo se muestran algunos resultados de la primera fase del estudio Plataforma LMS LIDERESASCHILE.CL: Tecnología para promover el liderazgo de nuevas juventudes femeninas, cuyo principal objetivo es crear una plataforma que promueva el liderazgo en niñas y mujeres adolescentes en Chile. Para comprender el contenido que se alojaría en la plataforma, se desarrolló un conjunto de encuestas y entrevistas a niñas y mujeres jóvenes de la Región de Los Lagos que permitiera indagar en sus percepciones y conocer las necesidades que tienen para su empoderamiento en relación con las siguientes dimensiones: participación; referentas en sus vidas; roles y estereotipos; autoconcepto y autoestima, y sus intereses. En los resultados se observó la importancia de valorar y validar los referentes femeninos desde la primera infancia y en todas las etapas de su formación, con la intención de fortalecer referentas que tengan un rol relevante en la historia social, cultural y política de...
Introducción La Depresión Momposina en Colombia incluye uno de los sistemas de humedal más grande... more Introducción La Depresión Momposina en Colombia incluye uno de los sistemas de humedal más grandes del mundo. En esta región, las grandes inundaciones que ocurren anualmente en las planicies y sus humedales, regulan los ciclos de agua, nutrientes y sedimentos. Éstos, a su vez, sustentan procesos ecológicos y servicios ecosistémicos esenciales para la seguridad alimentaria de las comunidades, especialmente para los pescadores. Por otro lado, para las comunidades, que usualmente no están preparadas para eventos extremos, las inundaciones constituyen una amenaza.
Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 2015
Hydropower involves two of the most pressing global environmental challenges of modern society—ac... more Hydropower involves two of the most pressing global environmental challenges of modern society—accelerated biodiversity loss and climate change. On one hand, hydropower provides a reliable source o ...
A key management concern in the Pacific US states is the assessment of interdisciplinary problems... more A key management concern in the Pacific US states is the assessment of interdisciplinary problems, such as spawning habitat self-sustainability. Nevertheless, existing assessment tools have yet to reflect the links between flow components, geomorphic processes, and habitat conditions. The goal of this project is to develop and test a method, rooted in the quantification of hydrogeomorphic-ecologic links governing spawning habitat quality, to assess the potential persistence of restored functions on a regulated river prior to rehabilitation. Flow regime component metrics and associated geomorphic descriptors are assembled into four conditions of spawning habitat health well supported by the primary literature. Three rivers with distinct hydrographs - the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, and Yuba Rivers - have been selected to test the method. Preliminary work involved statistical analysis of post-dam flow functionality with respect to the pre-dam hydrograph, which is assumed to have functional f...
Water managers must often balance the needs of both aquatic habitat and human water supply. Howev... more Water managers must often balance the needs of both aquatic habitat and human water supply. However, they frequently only have the tools to manage water delivery alone. Existing modeling tools for habitat have gaps in providing detailed biological estimates at a watershed scale and in simulating water supply operations and habitat suitability simultaneously. A new modeling platform and calculation framework, Aquatic Habitat Assessment, was applied in a case study to quantify habitat suitability and fish passage at a watershed scale for local species of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquatic Habitat Assessment was coupled with a suite of tools, including HEC-RAS used for hydraulics, WEAP for water allocations, and Tableau for visualization. The tools ensemble was used to simulate the operations of a water utility system near San Francisco Bay in California to evaluate the effects of reservoir reoperations on both human water suppl...
Human decisions on water can have a wide effect, impacting rivers, ecosystems, economies, livelih... more Human decisions on water can have a wide effect, impacting rivers, ecosystems, economies, livelihoods, cultures and spiritual values. To make decisions more equitable, researchers and practitioners need to engage directly with the people affected and understand the norms, values and forms of knowledge surrounding water which underlie these decisions. The participation of people affected by the decisions, known as “stakeholders”, is deeply connected to power relations, and effective models are needed to understand these relations and enable meaningful participation for diverse stakeholders.
In developing countries, where economic expansion depends on extractive activities such as agricu... more In developing countries, where economic expansion depends on extractive activities such as agriculture and mining, water quantity and quality considerations need to be examined in tandem with GDP growth and poverty reduction efforts. Poorest households in the Tupiza watershed in Bolivia are located in rural areas where water access for irrigation and safe drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce. Small-scale unregulated mining offers an alternative for revenue making in rural households, although wastewater from industry threatens water quality and new technologies to reduce water pollution are not implemented in this region yet. This study analyses water access and poverty linkages using the Multidimensional Poverty Analysis (MDPA) framework from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to guide a survey and to develop indicators using the Shapley-Owen decomposition method and multivariate regressions. A set of household-level policies were included to ...
En esta investigación se evaluó el impacto de las aguas residuales domésticas y agroindustriales ... more En esta investigación se evaluó el impacto de las aguas residuales domésticas y agroindustriales en la cuenca del río La Vieja, Colombia, considerando como factores para la evaluación el crecimiento poblacional, el desarrollo agroindustrial y los efectos de la variabilidad y el cambio climático. La evaluación de la calidad del agua se logró mediante la integración de las herramientas de modelación WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning System) y QUAL2K, que permitió realizar el análisis dendrítico (sistema ramificado de 11 fuentes hídricas que tributan al cauce principal) del comportamiento de la cantidad y la calidad del agua del río La Vieja. La cuenca del río La Vieja se localiza al centro sur de Colombia, con una extensión aproximadamente de 2.880 km2. Las principales ventajas de la integración de los modelos corresponden a la posibilidad de modificar la cinética de degradación de los contaminantes por tramo de río en el modelo QUAL2K y la dinamización de los resultados de este mod...
River basin planning in Bolivia is a relatively new endeavor that is primed for innovation and le... more River basin planning in Bolivia is a relatively new endeavor that is primed for innovation and learning. One important learning opportunity relates to connecting watershed planning to processes within other planning units (e.g., municipalities) that have water management implications. A second opportunity relates to integrating watershed management, with a focus on land-based interventions, and water resources management, with a focus on the use and control of surface and groundwater resources. Bolivia’s River Basin Policy and its primary planning instrument, the River Basin Master Plan (PDC in Spanish), provide the relevant innovation and learning context. Official guidance related to PDC development lacks explicit instructions related to the use of analytical tools, the definition of spatially and temporally dis-aggregated indicators to evaluate specific watershed and water management interventions, and a description of the exact way stakeholders engage in the evaluation process. ...
Human activity has modified and deteriorated natural ecosystems in ways that reduce resilience an... more Human activity has modified and deteriorated natural ecosystems in ways that reduce resilience and exacerbate environmental and climate problems. Physical measures to protect, manage and restore these ecosystems that also address societal challenges in sustainable ways and bring biodiversity benefits are sometimes referred to as “nature-based solutions” (NBS). For example, reducing deforestation and restoring forests is a major opportunity for climate mitigation, while protecting or restoring coastal habitats can mitigate damage to coastal areas from natural hazard events, in addition to potentially providing co-benefits related to livelihood, recreation, and biodiversity. There is now an impetus to shift towards greater deployment of nature-based solutions. Not only do they offer an alternative to conventional fossil fuel-based or hard infrastructure solutions but, if implemented correctly, they also hold great promise for achieving multiple goals, benefits and synergies. These inc...
En el presente artículo se muestran algunos resultados de la primera fase del estudio Plataforma ... more En el presente artículo se muestran algunos resultados de la primera fase del estudio Plataforma LMS LIDERESASCHILE.CL: Tecnología para promover el liderazgo de nuevas juventudes femeninas, cuyo principal objetivo es crear una plataforma que promueva el liderazgo en niñas y mujeres adolescentes en Chile. Para comprender el contenido que se alojaría en la plataforma, se desarrolló un conjunto de encuestas y entrevistas a niñas y mujeres jóvenes de la Región de Los Lagos que permitiera indagar en sus percepciones y conocer las necesidades que tienen para su empoderamiento en relación con las siguientes dimensiones: participación; referentas en sus vidas; roles y estereotipos; autoconcepto y autoestima, y sus intereses. En los resultados se observó la importancia de valorar y validar los referentes femeninos desde la primera infancia y en todas las etapas de su formación, con la intención de fortalecer referentas que tengan un rol relevante en la historia social, cultural y política de...
Introducción La Depresión Momposina en Colombia incluye uno de los sistemas de humedal más grande... more Introducción La Depresión Momposina en Colombia incluye uno de los sistemas de humedal más grandes del mundo. En esta región, las grandes inundaciones que ocurren anualmente en las planicies y sus humedales, regulan los ciclos de agua, nutrientes y sedimentos. Éstos, a su vez, sustentan procesos ecológicos y servicios ecosistémicos esenciales para la seguridad alimentaria de las comunidades, especialmente para los pescadores. Por otro lado, para las comunidades, que usualmente no están preparadas para eventos extremos, las inundaciones constituyen una amenaza.
Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 2015
Hydropower involves two of the most pressing global environmental challenges of modern society—ac... more Hydropower involves two of the most pressing global environmental challenges of modern society—accelerated biodiversity loss and climate change. On one hand, hydropower provides a reliable source o ...
A key management concern in the Pacific US states is the assessment of interdisciplinary problems... more A key management concern in the Pacific US states is the assessment of interdisciplinary problems, such as spawning habitat self-sustainability. Nevertheless, existing assessment tools have yet to reflect the links between flow components, geomorphic processes, and habitat conditions. The goal of this project is to develop and test a method, rooted in the quantification of hydrogeomorphic-ecologic links governing spawning habitat quality, to assess the potential persistence of restored functions on a regulated river prior to rehabilitation. Flow regime component metrics and associated geomorphic descriptors are assembled into four conditions of spawning habitat health well supported by the primary literature. Three rivers with distinct hydrographs - the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, and Yuba Rivers - have been selected to test the method. Preliminary work involved statistical analysis of post-dam flow functionality with respect to the pre-dam hydrograph, which is assumed to have functional f...
Water managers must often balance the needs of both aquatic habitat and human water supply. Howev... more Water managers must often balance the needs of both aquatic habitat and human water supply. However, they frequently only have the tools to manage water delivery alone. Existing modeling tools for habitat have gaps in providing detailed biological estimates at a watershed scale and in simulating water supply operations and habitat suitability simultaneously. A new modeling platform and calculation framework, Aquatic Habitat Assessment, was applied in a case study to quantify habitat suitability and fish passage at a watershed scale for local species of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquatic Habitat Assessment was coupled with a suite of tools, including HEC-RAS used for hydraulics, WEAP for water allocations, and Tableau for visualization. The tools ensemble was used to simulate the operations of a water utility system near San Francisco Bay in California to evaluate the effects of reservoir reoperations on both human water suppl...
Human decisions on water can have a wide effect, impacting rivers, ecosystems, economies, livelih... more Human decisions on water can have a wide effect, impacting rivers, ecosystems, economies, livelihoods, cultures and spiritual values. To make decisions more equitable, researchers and practitioners need to engage directly with the people affected and understand the norms, values and forms of knowledge surrounding water which underlie these decisions. The participation of people affected by the decisions, known as “stakeholders”, is deeply connected to power relations, and effective models are needed to understand these relations and enable meaningful participation for diverse stakeholders.
In developing countries, where economic expansion depends on extractive activities such as agricu... more In developing countries, where economic expansion depends on extractive activities such as agriculture and mining, water quantity and quality considerations need to be examined in tandem with GDP growth and poverty reduction efforts. Poorest households in the Tupiza watershed in Bolivia are located in rural areas where water access for irrigation and safe drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce. Small-scale unregulated mining offers an alternative for revenue making in rural households, although wastewater from industry threatens water quality and new technologies to reduce water pollution are not implemented in this region yet. This study analyses water access and poverty linkages using the Multidimensional Poverty Analysis (MDPA) framework from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to guide a survey and to develop indicators using the Shapley-Owen decomposition method and multivariate regressions. A set of household-level policies were included to ...
En esta investigación se evaluó el impacto de las aguas residuales domésticas y agroindustriales ... more En esta investigación se evaluó el impacto de las aguas residuales domésticas y agroindustriales en la cuenca del río La Vieja, Colombia, considerando como factores para la evaluación el crecimiento poblacional, el desarrollo agroindustrial y los efectos de la variabilidad y el cambio climático. La evaluación de la calidad del agua se logró mediante la integración de las herramientas de modelación WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning System) y QUAL2K, que permitió realizar el análisis dendrítico (sistema ramificado de 11 fuentes hídricas que tributan al cauce principal) del comportamiento de la cantidad y la calidad del agua del río La Vieja. La cuenca del río La Vieja se localiza al centro sur de Colombia, con una extensión aproximadamente de 2.880 km2. Las principales ventajas de la integración de los modelos corresponden a la posibilidad de modificar la cinética de degradación de los contaminantes por tramo de río en el modelo QUAL2K y la dinamización de los resultados de este mod...
River basin planning in Bolivia is a relatively new endeavor that is primed for innovation and le... more River basin planning in Bolivia is a relatively new endeavor that is primed for innovation and learning. One important learning opportunity relates to connecting watershed planning to processes within other planning units (e.g., municipalities) that have water management implications. A second opportunity relates to integrating watershed management, with a focus on land-based interventions, and water resources management, with a focus on the use and control of surface and groundwater resources. Bolivia’s River Basin Policy and its primary planning instrument, the River Basin Master Plan (PDC in Spanish), provide the relevant innovation and learning context. Official guidance related to PDC development lacks explicit instructions related to the use of analytical tools, the definition of spatially and temporally dis-aggregated indicators to evaluate specific watershed and water management interventions, and a description of the exact way stakeholders engage in the evaluation process. ...
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