Das Forschungsprojekt wird innerhalb der Forschungskonzeption “Elbe-Ökologie” des Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie (BMBF) für drei Jahre (1.09.1997–31.08.2000) gefördert. Die Leitung hat die Alfred Toepfer Akademie für Naturschutz (NNA), Schneverdingen übernommen. Untersuchungsraum ist der niedersächsische Teilbereich der Unteren Mittelelbe-Niederung, der wegen seiner Vielfalt an natur-und kulturbetonten Biotoptypen und seiner herausragenden (teilweise nationalen bis internationalen) Bedeutung als Lebensraum seltener und bestandsbedrohter Pflanzen-und Tierarten von besonderem Interesse ist. Die Einrichtung eines Großschutzgebietes durch das Land Niedersachsen soll dieser Bedeutung Rechnung tragen. Eine wesentliche Rolle für Entwicklung und Fortbestand dieser vielfältig ausgeprägten Kulturlandschaft spielt die landwirtschaftliche Nutzung. In diesem interdisziplinären Projekt (beteiligte Institutionen s. 4) werden in engem Zusammenwirken von Wissenschaft und Praxis, von Landwirtschaft und Naturschutz, von Ökonomie und Ökologie Perspektiven und Konzepte für nachhaltige Landnutzung im niedersächsischen Elbetal erarbeitet. Möglichkeiten praktischer Umsetzung unter den gegebenen Rahmenbedingungen stehen von Beginn an im Mittelpunkt des Interesses.
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present a concept where social learning is used in education. Thematically, the concept is suitable for complex, interdisciplinary, societal challenges with a high degree of uncertainty regarding future changes. It is exemplified here by the need to link disaster risk reduction (DRR) with climate change adaptation (CCA) and flood risk management (FRM). The concept answers to the variety of adopted solutions and build-up of knowledge that exist, as a consequence of far-reaching local liabilities and initiatives. The concept advocates building of platforms and procedures where managers, stakeholders, researchers, policy makers, and regular students can meet, interact and learn from local examples. Design/methodology/approach – The concept IntECR (integrated education, research and collaboration) has been tested in two courses during 2009 and 2010 around the Swedish lakes Vänern and Mälaren. Seminars and field visits were arranged in ten different cities. Participants replied anonymously to a course evaluation and were questioned in groups about their perceived benefit from the concept. Findings – Informal networking, holistic perspective, shared problem identification and the positive possibility to study several examples of local management in arrangements with high degree of structural openness, were mentioned by the participants as positive outcome of the concept. Originality/value – The use of this educational concept aims to increase the adaptive capacity of societal entities through raised capacity of their individual members. The applied example is timely, relevant and a contribution to DRR and CCA.
Stakeholder participation is considered a key principle for sustainable development in the context of natural resource and disaster risk management. Participatory modelling (PM) is an interactive and iterative process in which stakeholder involvement is supported by modelling and communication tools. Planning and decision-making for sustainable development (SD)integrate three substantive dimensions − social, ecological and economic. The procedural dimension of SD, however, is equally important, and here we see great potential for PM. In this study, we evaluate five PM research projects against criteria for the procedural dimension of SD. This provides a basis for identifying key issues and needs for further research into PM for SD. While the cases show great potential, especially for supporting knowledge integration, learning and transparent handling of values and perspectives, they indicate a particular need to develop PM in respect of organizational integration. This issue is closely connected to the possibility of effectively implementing PM in practice.
<p>At present, the seasonally flooded wetland of the Kilombero River is mainly used by small-scale farmers who predominantly produce rice and maize during the wet season. Some community-based irrigation systems do exist, which reduce the consequences and risks of climate variabilities regarding e.g. the onset of the rainy season and which allow year-round farming. Like other sub-Saharan wetlands, the Kilombero Valley floodplain is a highly dynamic environment, which is amplified due to increasing variability in the onset and intensity of the wet season.</p><p>In this study, we identify drivers of change and farmers&#8217; decision-making strategies using focus group discussions with different types of farmers. In particular, we examine the differences between farmers from rain-fed and irrigated agriculture in terms of their agricultural practices and decision-making strategies for dealing with hydro-climatic risks. The results map the perceptions and visions of the people whose actions shape this highly dynamic environment and identify a range of options for action that go beyond the optimality paradigm.</p><p>Understanding how aspirations and visions about the future shape agricultural practices and hence human-water interaction is crucial to understand possible changes and dynamics of coupled socio-ecological systems. Therefore, this study is embedded into a wider multi-method approach integrating qualitative and quantitative data to inform and modify hydrological modelling. Here, the qualitatively collected data and findings of this research provide ground for developing additional scenarios for hydrological models and allow for contextualizing model results. Thus, human-water interactions can be better represented and the local populations&#8217; perception and reactions to hydro-climatic risks can be assessed.</p><p>This research is part of the Collaborative Research Centre 228 &#8220;Rural Future Africa&#8221; funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).</p>
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