scholarly journals Land Management Strategies and their Implications for Mazahua Farmers’ Livelihoods in the Highlands of Central Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belina García-Fajardo ◽  
María Estela Orozco-Hernández ◽  
John McDonagh ◽  
Gustavo Álvarez-Arteaga ◽  
Patricia Mireles-Lezama
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Farmer Typology

Abstract This paper presents a case study from a Mazahua indigenous community in the rural Highlands of Central Mexico. It analyses Mazahua farming livelihoods characterised by subsistence agriculture, marginality, poverty and severe land degradation. Mazahua farmers face constrained environmental, socioeconomic and cultural conditions, which influence their local decisions on natural resource management. The results describe the capital assets base used, where land, livestock and crop production are imperative assets to support farmers’ livelihood strategies. It analyses local management practices to achieve livelihood outcomes in the short/long term, and to improve or undermine land characteristics and other related assets. It also presents a farmer typology constructed by local perceptions, a controversial element to drive sustainable development strategies at the local level. Finally, it discusses how local land management practices are adopted and their importance in developing alternatives to encourage positive trade-offs between conservation and production in order to improve rural livelihoods.

scholarly journals Pollination Potential in Portugal: Leveraging an Ecosystem Service for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
Caroline Wentling ◽  
Felipe S. Campos ◽  
João David ◽  
Pedro Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Pollinator Abundance ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Administrative Boundary

As urbanization and agriculture increase worldwide, habitats and food sources for wild pollinators are often fragmented or destroyed. As wild pollinators contribute both resilience and variety to agricultural fields, it is desirable to implement land management practices that preserve their well-being and ability to contribute to food production systems. This study evaluates continental Portugal for its change in suitability to host bee’s pollinator species (Apis mellifera) from 1990 to 2018. It uses the InVEST crop pollination modeling tool and CORINE Land Cover, as well as parameterization to produce pollinator abundance and supply maps. These are generalized to municipality boundaries to provide actionable insights to farmers and policymakers and strengthen land management practices. It finds that the potential for pollination services is growing, with averages of both pollinator abundance and supply indices improving by 8.76% across the continental territory in 28 years. The study results are validated using another pollination index derived from a study that is based on expert opinion and field sampling in a sub-region of Portugal. This method of aggregation of model results and comparison of the percent difference by administrative boundary has the potential to better inform both policymakers and farmers about the pollination potential on a local level, as well as inspire interventions for future productivity.

A framework for the Integrated Assessment of SDG trade-offs in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Marcinko ◽  
Robert Nicholls ◽  
Tim Daw ◽  
Sugata Hazra ◽  
Craig Hutton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Sundarbans

<p>The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding targets are significantly interconnected, with many interactions, synergies and trade-offs between individual goals across multiple temporal and spatial scales.  We propose a framework for the Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) of a complex deltaic socio-ecological system in order to analyse such SDG interactions. We focus on the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR), India within the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. It is densely populated with 4.4 million people (2011), high levels of poverty and a strong dependence on rural livelihoods. It is only 50 km from the growing megacity of Kolkata (about 15 million people in 2020). The area also includes the Indian portion of the world’s largest mangrove forest – the Sundarbans – hosting the iconic Bengal Tiger. Like all deltaic systems, this area is subject to multiple drivers of environmental change operating across different scales. The IAM framework is designed to investigate current and future trends in socio-environmental change and explore associated policy impacts, considering a broad range of sub-thematic SDG indicators. Integration is achieved through the soft coupling of multiple sub-models, knowledge and data of relevant environmental and socio-economic processes.  The following elements are explicitly considered: (1) agriculture; (2) aquaculture; (3) mangroves; (4) fisheries; and (5) multidimensional poverty. Key questions that can be addressed include the implications of changing monsoon patterns, trade-offs between agriculture and aquaculture, or the future of the Sundarbans mangroves under sea-level rise and different management strategies, including trade-offs with land use to the north.  The novel high-resolution analysis of SDG interactions allowed by the IAM will provide stakeholders and policy makers the opportunity to prioritize and explore the SDG targets that are most relevant to the SBR and provide a foundation for further integrated analysis.</p>

scholarly journals Local Perception of Drivers of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Dynamics across Dedza District, Central Malawi Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie G. Munthali ◽  
Nerhene Davis ◽  
Abiodun M. Adeola ◽  
Joel O. Botai ◽  
Jonathan M. Kamwi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Barren Land ◽  
Lulc Changes

Research on Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) dynamics, and an understanding of the drivers responsible for these changes, are very crucial for modelling future LULC changes and the formulation of sustainable and robust land-management strategies and policy decisions. This study adopted a mixed method consisting of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analysis, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews covering 586 households to assess LULC dynamics and associated LULC change drivers across the Dedza district, a central region of Malawi. GIS-based analysis of remotely sensed data revealed that barren land and built-up areas extensively increased at the expense of agricultural and forest land between 1991 and 2015. Analysis of the household-survey results revealed that the perceptions of respondents tended to validate the observed patterns during the remotely sensed data-analysis phase of the research, with 57.3% (n = 586) of the respondents reporting a decline in agricultural land use, and 87.4% (n = 586) observing a decline in forest areas in the district. Furthermore, firewood collection, charcoal production, population growth, and poverty were identified as the key drivers of these observed LULC changes in the study area. Undoubtedly, education has emerged as a significant factor influencing respondents’ perceptions of these drivers of LULC changes. However, unsustainable LULC changes observed in this study have negative implications on rural livelihoods and natural-resource management. Owing to the critical role that LULC dynamics play to rural livelihoods and the ecosystem, this study recommends further research to establish the consequences of these changes. The present study and future research will support decision makers and planners in the design of tenable and coherent land-management strategies.

scholarly journals Major Cereal Crop Production in Kabhrepalanchok

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-33
Author(s):  
Mira Giri ◽  
Dhundi Raj Dahal
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cereal Crops ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Yield Data

Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change impact. The main purpose of the study is to find the recent production of major cereal crops as rice, maize, and wheat per unit area in Banepa municipality, as a case study to the local trends and adaptation. The study was conducted among the household of ward No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 in the Municipality. Field observation, in-depth interview, focus group discussion, Questionnaire survey methods were adopted for information collection, cross-validation with verification and using a secondary source of the information. Monthly precipitation and monthly minimum and maximum air temperatures data of Dhulikhel station were used to study their annual and seasonal trends. Time-series annual yield data in rice, maize, and wheat were collected from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Production was also accessed from the local level in a cross-sectional survey. Temperature and precipitation were collected from the Department of Hydrology and Metrology. The Survey indicated that yields have increased for major cereal crops and this led to an increase in the use of chemical fertilizer, chemical pesticides, improved seed, and improved management practices. The impacts of these changes have resulted in an increased attack of white grub in roots and maize smut in cobs, rice blast in panicle and stem, rust and blight disease and grain borer in wheat. The major issues for farmers were found to be a deficit of inorganic fertilizers, an insufficient supply of quality seeds and an unsystematic market. The coping mechanism for climate change in farming was not applied due to a lack of knowledge, facilities, and access to improved technologies. The farmers expected advanced technological know-how along with other facilities for climate-resilient farming. This study concludes that change in climate is affecting the agriculture in Banepa Municipality of Kabhrepalancchok. The existing local and institutional strategies are not sufficient and sustainable to cope with climatic vagaries. It is very important to address the problems in this region with institutional support and through a long-term policy perspective.

Developing a new regulatory paradigm to address the impacts of diffuse pollution attributable to agriculture

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan McNitt ◽  
Ron Kepford
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Pollution Abatement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Diffuse Pollution ◽  
Watershed Approach

To control pollution attributable to livestock operations, the statutory and regulatory scheme of the US Clean Water Act focuses on implementing structural controls to contain animal waste. While the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is empowered only to regulate point sources, existing authority may be extended to regulate diffuse runoff associated with certain livestock facilities. Current water pollution abatement programs, however, have not responded to the differences inherent in diffuse pollution and the land management strategies necessary to control and abate its impacts. The Planned Intervention Micro-watershed Approach (PIMA) recognizes this distinction, offering a method of refining land management strategies while keeping existing point source pollution regulation and enforcement mechanisms in place. Within a limited time frame, producers have flexibility to develop and implement cost-effective management practices that achieve environmental goals. Planned intervention is integrated with a micro-watershed approach to watershed management which uses small, hydrologically discrete areas to target diffuse pollution sources and direct intervention efforts. This approach utilizes local stakeholder input and participation to create a bottom-up, community-based institutional framework for addressing diffuse pollution from agricultural sources that satisfies water quality objectives.

Applying the climatic water balance to the Volta basin as an accounting framework to aid policy makers in understanding climate pressures on the water-energy-food (W-E-F) nexus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Forsythe ◽  
David Pritchard ◽  
Hayley Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Volta Basin ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Moisture Supply

<p>The multinational FutureDAMS consortium -- funded by the UK's Global Challenges Research Fund -- is working to improve the design, selection and operation of dams to support sustainable development. Existing and planned large water storage infrastructure systems have the potential to make a significant contribution towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate change commitments. But maximising the benefits while minimising the negative social and environmental impacts of large-scale infrastructure in the river basins comprising the multifunctional cores of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus remains a challenge. One critical aspect of this challenge is the difficulty of achieving uptake of scientific guidance by policy makers and other influential stakeholders.</p><p>The climatic water balance (CWB), i.e. precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration, provides a methodological framework for understanding moisture supply-demand equilibrium at a range of spatial scales including those relevant to land management – administrative districts and tributary watersheds – within basins. The CWB framework understood as an accounting analogy – i.e. rainfall as income, evapotranspiration as expenditure – can be comprehensible to scientific lay persons and help to understand the climate pressures which constrain WEF resource management. Viewed through a CWB framework, rural lands are critical both as determinants of rainfall partitioning between runoff and infiltration as well as areas of consumptive water usage for food production. Runoff entering engineered river systems becomes available for satisfying water supply and (hydropower) energy demands. As a transboundary river basin in a region experiencing substantial demographic growth and with strong aspirations for rapid economic development, inter-sectoral tensions are likely as Volta basin decision makers and economic actors seek to satisfy elements of the W-E-F nexus. By quantifying spatiotemporal moisture supply-demand balance conditions the CWB can provide valuable information to quantify trade-offs and potential synergies resulting from land management practices, infrastructure development and water allocation policies.</p><p>In this work we will examine point/site-based values and spatial aggregates of CWB for a range of locations and scales within the larger Volta basin. For each case we will identify key WEF issues which are influenced by the CWB as well as stakeholders whose decision-making processes could be informed by insights derived from the CWB (accounting) framework.</p>

Perceptions of wild bees and farm characteristics associated with the uptake of pollinator-supporting land management practices among Canadian apple growers

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Nalepa ◽  
Graham Epstein ◽  
Jeremy Pittman ◽  
Sheila R. Colla
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
Perceived Costs

Abstract Pollination services are critical for food production. Although domesticated honey bees are important pollinators in agriculture, there is growing interest in supporting naturally occurring wild bees. Diversifying pollination management strategies by encouraging healthy wild bee communities may be especially useful for growers of insect-pollinated crops, such as apples. Although research has identified several land management practices that can enhance local pollinator communities on farms, there are few studies on the factors that influence growers to adopt pollinator-supporting actions on their land. Here, we surveyed 75 Canadian apple growers and used regression models to explore the influence of farm characteristics and perceptions about bees on the likelihood of adopting 15 unique pollinator-supporting practices. We also provide a descriptive analysis of growers' pollination management practices and self-assessed resourcefulness on the ability to improve habitat for wild pollinators on the farm. We found that an increase in three variables: awareness of wild bees, perception of the severity of threats facing wild populations, and the perception of the benefits provided by wild bees is associated with more pollinator-supporting practices on the farm. Overall, growers were less likely to adopt pollinator-friendly practices as the fraction of rented land increased and as the perceived costs of implementing these practices rose. We found ‘low-hanging fruit’ (i.e., pollinator-supporting practices that could be easily and inexpensively implemented) were adopted by less than one-third of growers and that the majority of those surveyed had little to no knowledge on what actions to take if they wanted to improve their farms for wild bees or where to go for that knowledge. Our results suggest that policies and programs that focus on raising grower awareness of wild bees, increasing grower perception of their benefits, and reducing the perceived costs of implementing pollinator-supporting practices may positively affect their uptake. A deeper understanding of grower perceptions will provide essential insight into how growers may contribute to wild pollinator conservation while potentially increasing agricultural production and reducing vulnerability borne of heavy reliance on managed pollinators.

scholarly journals DAMAGING NATURE OF FALL ARMYWORM AND ITS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN MAIZE: A REVIEW

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-85
Author(s):  
Shirisa Acharya ◽  
Subham Kaphle ◽  
Jaya Upadhayay ◽  
Abina Pokhrel ◽  
Sabina Paudel
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Fall Armyworm ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Agricultural Crop ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Young Leaves ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a polyphagous pest which is arising as one of the major threats to agricultural crop production. It has around 80 host species that cause severe damage to cereals and vegetable crops. This pest was first discovered in Africa (2016) and first collected and reported in Nepal at Nawalparasi district on 9th may 2019. The larvae of FAW are found on young leaves, leaf whorls, tassels or cobs according to their growth stages. First instar larvae scrape leaves and shows pin-hole symptoms and window-pane feeding symptoms whereas in the later vegetative stages, damage results in skeletonised leaves and heavily windowed whorls. If climatic condition for pest establishment is suitable this pest could cause approximately 100% crop loss in maize if not managed in time. Regular scouting, push and pull method, black light traps, commonly available botanicals like neem locally available materials like ash and some recommended insecticides with recommended dose can be used for the control of fall armyworm. There is an urgent need for developing ecologically sustainable, economically profitable, and socially acceptable integrated pest management strategies to mitigate the impacts of the fall armyworm and not just rely on single management practice.

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