No longer strong social cohesion Lessons from two transboundary water conflicts in the Mexicali Valley, México

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Andrés Cortez-Lara
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Water Conflicts ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Del Rio ◽  
Management Issues

This work examines the role of local stakeholders in managing transboundary and irrigation water in the Mexicali Valley. The analysis focuses on the impacts of institutions as they relate to two transboundary water conflicts, the salinity problem, and the All-American Canal lining divergence. The views of farmers and water managers show that farmers have lost social cohesion and economic and political power during the period in between these two episodes, which in turn reduced their role and influence in water management issues. During the salinity problem, unified and strong leadership and widespread participation were credited with influencing bene ficial outcomes. On the other hand, the existence of opposing views regarding the All-American Canal lining conflict and weak leadership seem responsible for ineff ective participation in solutions. The research illuminates the complexities of water management in transboundary se ings and the role that local actors may play in increasing cooperation and regional integration. Spanish Este artículo revisa el papel de los actores locales en la gestión y manejo de recursos hídricos transfronterizos y el riego en el Valle de Mexicali. El análisis enfatiza los impactos de los arreglos institucionales relacionados con dos conflictos por aguas transfronterizas, el problema de la salinidad del río Colorado y el revestimiento del Canal Todo Americano. Las percepciones de los agricultores y los gestores del agua indican que los agricultores han ido perdiendo cohesión social y poder económico y político lo cual ha reducido su papel e influencia en aspectos relacionados a la gestión de aguas transfronterizas. Durante el episodio de la salinidad, fue notoria la unificación y fortaleza de liderazgos que indujeron una significativa participación social. En contraste, la prevalencia de opiniones diversas respecto al conflicto del revestimiento conjugado con el frágil liderazgo redundó en una inefectividad de los usuarios para lograr impactos positivos. El artículo muestra la complejidad de la gestión transfronteriza del agua así como el papel clave que los actores locales pudieran tener para alcanzar la cooperación e integración regional. French Ce travail examine le rôle des acteurs locaux dans la gestion des eaux transfrontalières et d'irrigation dans la Vallée de Mexicali. Ce e analyse se concentre sur l'impact des institutions dans la mesure où elles ont pris part à deux conflits sur l'eau, et traitent du problème de la salinité et des divergences sur le tracé du canal All-American. Les opinions des fermiers et des gestionnaires de l'eau révèlent que les fermiers ont perdu toute cohésion sociale ainsi que tout pouvoir politique et économique durant la période entre ces deux épisodes. Il en a résulté qu'ils ont de fait perdu leur rôle et leur influence dans les domaines de la gestion de l'eau. Au cours du problème de salinité, un leadership unifié et fort et une vaste participation ont été récompensés par d'excellents résultats. Mais de l'autre côté, l'existence de vues opposées dans le cadre du conflit sur le tracé du Canal All-American ainsi qu'un pauvre leadership ont vraisemblablement entraîné une participation inefficace lors de la recherche de solutions. Ce e étude met en lumière les complexités de la gestion de l'eau dans des cadres transnationaux, et le rôle que peuvent jouer les acteurs locaux dans l'augmentation de la coopération et de l'intégration régionale.

scholarly journals Risk perception of local stakeholders on natural hazards: implications for theory and practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihai Ciprian Mărgărint ◽  
Mihai Niculiţă ◽  
Giulia Roder ◽  
Paolo Tarolli
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Risk Awareness ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

Abstract. In Romania, local stakeholders' knowledge plays a decisional role in emergencies, supporting rescue officers in natural hazard events, coordinating and assisting, both physically and psychologically, the affected populations. However, despite in Iași Metropolitan area (NE of Romania), the occurrence and severity of natural hazards are increasing there is a lack of knowledge of local stakeholders to address the population toward safety actions. For this reason, 118 local stakeholders were interviewed to determine their risk awareness and preparedness capacities over a set of natural hazards to understand where the lack of knowledge, action, and trust are exacerbated the most. Results reveal substantial distinctions among stakeholders and the different threats based on their cognitive and behavioral roles in the communities. The role of responsibility and trust has been seen as important driving factors shaping their perception and preparedness. Preparedness levels were low, and, not for all, learning and preparatory actions are needed to withstand the negative occurrences of natural hazards. As their role is to refer with direct interventions in affected areas managing communication initiatives with the entire population of the community, there is the need to create stakeholders' networks, empowering local actors that could serve as a bridge between authorities' decisions and local people in order to make effective risk management plans and secure more lives and economies.

scholarly journals New elements of water management

2019 ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
Janusz Niemczynowicz
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Chemical Contamination ◽  
Rivers And Lakes ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Scientists And Engineers ◽  
Management Issues

Modern water management goes presently through difficult processes of adaptation to new tatgetsstipulated by the needs of sustainable development. The process of change requires constantwidening of necessary knowledge and activitiy of engineers and scientists dealing with watermanagement. New targets require more itegrated actions, involving also new subject areas that areonly indirectly connected with traditional water management issues. To these belongs, forexample, management of raw materials, products and residuals, problems of soil pollution andresulting chemical contamination of agricultural products, presence of contaminants in food,influencing helth of population. Simultaneously, traditional goals of water management must bealso be fulfilled while costs of maintenance and renovation of oldering water supply and sanitarysystems increase parallel with age of constructions.Sustainable develpment postulates require actions towards preservation and gradual improvementof water quality in local and regional surface- and groundwater reservoirs in all regions,protection of agricultural soils, forests and other ecological systems such as weltands, medows,rivers and lakes that constitute a base for maintaining biological diversity and, simultaneously, forfood production and recreation of population in villages and cities. It may be notted that there is ageneral trend to widen the role of scientists and engineers dealing with water management toadress other, less typical areas, such as management of residuals, protection of rawmaterials andhealth protection of population. New understanding is growing among scientists and populationthat residuals, often classified as Agarbage=, Apollution:or Asolid weaste= may also constitutenew valuable resnources, it may be visualized by following symmetrical equation:Pollution = lost resources = pollutionBeginning with consideration of pollution problems one will arrive to the problem oflost naturalresources. Starting with a problem of inefective use and lost natural resources, one will arrve tothe problem of environmental pollution.

From Trinidad and Tobago to the World: Determining the role of Calypso in a new Era

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 7-11
Author(s):  
Malek Abdel-Shehid
Keyword(s):  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
West African ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
New Era ◽  
Transatlantic Slave Trade ◽  
Cultural Sovereignty ◽  
Caribbean Culture ◽  
Musical Cultures

Calypso is a popular Caribbean musical genre that originated in the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The genre was developed primarily by enslaved West Africans brought to the region via the transatlantic slave trade during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Although West-African Kaiso music was a major influence, the genre has also been shaped by other African genres, and by Indian, British, French, and Spanish musical cultures. Emerging in the early twentieth century, Calypso became a tool of resistance by Afro-Caribbean working-class Trinbagonians. Calypso flourished in Trinidad due to a combination of factors—namely, the migration of Afro-Caribbean people from across the region in search of upward social mobility. These people sought to expose the injustices perpetrated by a foreign European and a domestic elite against labourers in industries such as petroleum extraction. The genre is heavily anti-colonial, anti-imperial, and anti-elitist, and it advocated for regional integration. Although this did not occur immediately, Calypsonians sought to establish unity across the region regardless of race, nationality, and class through their songwriting and performing. Today, Calypso remains a unifying force and an important part of Caribbean culture. Considering Calypso's history and purpose, as well as its ever-changing creators and audiences, this essay will demonstrate that the goal of regional integration is not possible without cultural sovereignty.

Preliminary Report on the Research of “Activity Centers” in Taidong, Taiwan

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-125
Author(s):  
Petr Janda
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Traditional Beliefs ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Symbolic Value ◽  
Suitable Location

This report presents current research on aboriginal activity centers in Taidong County, Taiwan, primarily in the townships of Chishang and Yanping with over 30% of the population being of aboriginal ancestry. Taidong County is the region with the most distinctive aboriginal communities in Taiwan. The research attempts to identify the actors behind the operation of such centers and their significance for aboriginal communities. The research investigates the process of selecting suitable location for the facilities, the specific features of such centers, the potential religious significance of the locations including the role of traditional beliefs in predominantly Christian aboriginal communities, the symbolic value of structures built in the traditional style for construction of ethnicity and financing that enables the construction of the facilities and the organization of the festivities held in them. The principle research method used was interviews with local actors including local representatives, organizers of festivities, as well as members of local communities. The research began in 2017.

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