| 1. |
- Alarcon Ferrari, Cristian, et al.
(författare)
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Citizen Science as Democratic Innovation That Renews Environmental Monitoring and Assessment for the Sustainable Development Goals in Rural Areas
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 13:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This commentary focuses on analyzing the potential of citizen science to address legitimacy issues in the knowledge base used to guide transformative governance in the context of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (henceforth SDGs). The commentary develops two interrelated arguments for better understanding the limits of what we term “traditional” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (EMA) as well as the potential of citizen science (CS) for strengthening the legitimacy of EMA in the local implementation of SDGs. We start by arguing that there is an urgent need for a profound renewal of traditional EMA to better implement the SDGs. Then, we present CS as a democratic innovation that provides a path to EMA renewal that incorporates, develops, and extends the role of CS in data production and use by EMA. The commentary substantiates such arguments based on current approaches to CS and traditional EMA. From this starting point, we theorize the potential of CS as a democratic innovation that can repurpose EMA as a tool for the implementation of the SDGs. With a focus on the implementation of SDG15 (Life on Land) in local contexts, the commentary presents CS as a democratic innovation for legitimate transformative governance that can affect socio-ecological transitions. We see this approach as especially appropriate to analyze the implementation of SDGs in rural settings where a specific resource nexus can create conflict-laden contexts with much potential for a renewed EMA to support transformative governance towards Agenda 2030.
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| 2. |
- Ellison, David, et al.
(författare)
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Trees, forests and water : Cool insights for a hot world
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 43, s. 51-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into regional, national, continental and global decision-making on climate change adaptation, mitigation, land use and water management. This constrains humanity's ability to protect our planet's climate and life-sustaining functions. The substantial body of research we review reveals that forest, water and energy interactions provide the foundations for carbon storage, for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Forests and trees must be recognized as prime regulators within the water, energy and carbon cycles. If these functions are ignored, planners will be unable to assess, adapt to or mitigate the impacts of changing land cover and climate. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority. For reasons of sustainability, carbon storage must remain a secondary, though valuable, by-product. The effects of tree cover on climate at local, regional and continental scales offer benefits that demand wider recognition. The forest- and tree-centered research insights we review and analyze provide a knowledge-base for improving plans, policies and actions. Our understanding of how trees and forests influence water, energy and carbon cycles has important implications, both for the structure of planning, management and governance institutions, as well as for how trees and forests might be used to improve sustainability, adaptation and mitigation efforts.
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| 3. |
- Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Community perceptions of forest–water relationships in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia
- 2014
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Ingår i: GeoJournal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0343-2521 .- 1572-9893. ; 79:5, s. 605-618
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Community perception of forest–water relationship was gathered using participatory rural appraisal tools in four watersheds of the Blue Nile River Basin in Ethiopia. These were compared and contrasted with the observational records of forest cover and water flow. Upstream and downstream communities were assessed separately to check for differences in perception based on location within a watershed. The key result of the study was that people in the study watersheds had a range of perceptions about the forest–water relationship which were watershed specific. The perceptions were generally consistent with observational evidence from the same watersheds. This study highlighted the need for locale-specific approaches to land and water management in the Basin, as well as the potential value of using community perceptions to complement the observational records which can have spatial and temporal limitations.
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| 4. |
- Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis, et al.
(författare)
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Forest cover change over four decades in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia : comparison of three watersheds
- 2014
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Ingår i: Regional Environmental Change. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1436-3798 .- 1436-378X. ; 14:1, s. 253-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this study was to quantify forest cover changes in three watersheds (Gilgel Abbay (1,646 km(2)), Birr (980 km(2)), and Upper-Didesa (1,980 km(2)) of the Blue Nile Basin between 1957 and 2001. Four land cover maps were produced for each watershed for 1957/1958, 1975, 1986, and 2000/2001. Nine different types of land cover were identified, five of which were forest cover classes. Between 1957 and 2001, the total forest cover increased in Gilgel Abbay (from 10 to 22 % cover) and decreased in Birr (from 29 to 22 % cover) as well as in Upper-Didesa (from 89 to 45 % cover). The increase in Gilgel Abbay was primarily due to the expansion of eucalyptus plantations. Natural forest cover decreased in all three watersheds. Wooded grassland decreased by two-thirds, dry/moist mixed forests decreased by half, and riverine forests had disappeared by 1975 in Gilgel Abbay and Birr. Major deforestation had already taken place in the northern watersheds, Gilgel Abbay and Birr, before the 1960s and 1970s, while in the southern watershed, Upper-Didesa, much of the deforestation occurred after 1975. The southern watershed still remained by far the most forested watershed in 2001 despite the strong ongoing deforestation. The changes in forest cover could affect natural resource management, greenhouse gas emissions, water resources, and agricultural production including coffee production. The patterns of change are different in the three watersheds. We therefore recommend further studies of the local conditions and drivers of change as the basis for designing effective policy to halt further loss of natural forest, which offers a wealth of ecosystem services.
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| 5. |
- Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis
(författare)
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Forests, water and food security in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia : Knowledge synthesis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 1462-9011 .- 1873-6416. ; 48, s. 128-136
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper synthesizes the spatial and temporal relationship between forest cover and water, as well as its implications for food security in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Different studies addressing the topic of land cover and hydrology have been reviewed. Analyses of 20-40 year long time series showed little and inconsistent relationships between forest cover change and hydrology on meso-scale (100-1000 km(2)) watersheds. Spatial studies, however, showed stronger relationships between land cover and low flow features such as grasslands and woodlands. Interviews with local communities suggested land cover change impacts are more pronounced at smaller scale (<100 km(2)) watersheds; which is consistent with observational studies on small scale watersheds and farm level plots. The stronger relationships between forests and hydrology at smaller scales suggests land management policies should be oriented to farm level conditions, where water is vital for the food security of subsistence farmers who comprise 86% of the population in the highlands.
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| 6. |
- Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis, et al.
(författare)
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Is observation uncertainty masking the signal of land use change impacts on hydrology?
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 570, s. 393-400
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Analysis of hydrological impacts of land use change raises questions about whether, and how much, such impacts are misrepresented because of errors in river flow observations. In this paper, land use change impacts (represented by changes in watershed storage) and different ranges of discharge measurement error are compared to assess how errors in discharge measurement can potentially mask a land use change impact. Using a watershed from the Ethiopian highlands to exemplify this, we simulated five different levels of land use change impacts with five levels of watershed storage reductions (from 10% to 50% change) and the associated time series of runoff. Different levels of observation error were then introduced into these artificial time series. Comparison was made between every pair, i.e. a time series derived from a certain level of land use change (storage reduction) versus a time series corresponding to a given level of observation error, using a step-change t-test. Significant step-changes between pairs define the detectability of land use change impact. The analysis was made for the entire 30-year time series as well as for the most extreme annual weather conditions. The results showed that for the average year and wettest year, 75% or more error in observed discharge masks the maximum simulated land use change impact on hydrology. In dry years, a 50% error in discharge is enough to mask the same impact. Knowing (and improving) the level of data quality contributes to a better understanding of hydrological uncertainties and improves the precision in assessing land use change impacts. Both of these are essential elements in water resources development planning.
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| 7. |
- Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis, et al.
(författare)
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The long-term hydrology of East Africa's water tower : statistical change detection in the watersheds of the Abbay Basin
- 2014
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Ingår i: Regional Environmental Change. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1436-3798 .- 1436-378X. ; 14:1, s. 321-331
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forty-five years (1960-2004) of hydrological data from 12 watersheds in the Abbay Basin, Ethiopia, were tested for possible trends over the entire time series and differences in medians (step-wise changes) between three sub-periods. The classification of the sub-periods was based on the major political changes in 1975 and 1991. Variables investigated were rainfall (P), total flow (Q(t)), high flow (Q(h)), low flow (Q(1)), low flow index (LFI) and run-off coefficient (C). Data were checked for outliers, errors and homogeneity. Trend was tested after serial and cross-correlation tests. The data for each variable were serially uncorrelated from 1 to 10 lag years. There were five globally significant trends out of 50 test cases and 36 significant step-wise changes out of 180 tests. The majority of the significant changes were watershed specific. Run-off coefficient was the single variable showing a consistently increasing trend and stood for ca. 25 % of the total significant trends and step-wise changes. Half of these changes occurred after 1991. We concluded that despite the land use policy changes in 1975 and 1991, as well as the long-term soil degradation, the hydrological regime was quite stable over the 45-year period, with the exception of an increase in the run-off coefficient in the latter part of the run-off record in some watersheds.
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| 8. |
- Gebrehiwot, Solomon Gebreyohannis, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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The Nile Basin waters and the West African rainforest : Rethinking the boundaries
- 2019
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Ingår i: WIREs Water. - : WILEY. - 2049-1948. ; 6:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This focus article presents the state of the West African rainforest (WARF), its role in atmospheric moisture transport to the Nile Basin, and the potential impact of its deforestation on the Nile Basin's water regime, as well as options for improving transboundary water governance. The Nile is the longest river in the world, but delivers less water per unit area than other major rivers. Pressures from the Basin's rapidly growing population and agricultural demand risk exacerbating transboundary water conflicts. About 85% of the surface water reaching Aswan in Egypt originates from the Ethiopian Highlands which comprise less than 10% of the Nile Basin's total area (3.3 million km(2)). Some of the atmospheric moisture reaching the Highlands crosses over the WARF; other moisture source areas include the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The WARF adds atmospheric moisture and modifies the regional climate system. Deforestation in the WARF has the potential to alter rainfall patterns over the Ethiopian Highlands and thus flows in the Nile River, with reductions a likely outcome. Transregional governance that looks beyond basin boundaries to the sources and routes of moisture transport (the precipitationshed) has yet to be integrated into land-atmosphere and water management negotiations. To better achieve sustainable land management and water resource development in the Nile Basin, scientific and governance frameworks need to be established that include the WARF region states in the ongoing negotiations between the Nile riparian states. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Water Governance Science of Water > Methods
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