scholarly journals New Varieties of Coffee: Compromising the Qualities of Adaptive Agroforestry? A Case Study From Southern Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia Ruiz-de-Oña ◽  
Yair Merlín-Uribe
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Ecological Benefits ◽  
Plot Sampling ◽  
Coffee Leaf Rust ◽  
Production Cycles ◽  
New Varieties

The most recent wave of coffee leaf rust, and its interaction with climatic variability, caused severe crop losses in shade-grown coffee areas in Latin America during the 2010–14 production cycles and beyond. Fungal attack on traditional Arabica varieties led to a process of substitution with new coffee varieties that are tolerant or resistant to the pathogen. The adaptation literature classifies this type of intervention as an incremental adaptation, with the potential to lead the system toward sustainable transformation. This research explores the initial consequences of introducing certain hybrid varieties into the transboundary area of the Tacaná Volcano, located between Chiapas and Guatemala, with the objective of identifying aspects that put the potential for adaptive agroforestry at risk. We hypothesize that the interaction of a range of economic, political, and ecological factors leads to ambiguous results in terms of both production and environmental adaptation. Ecological and management variables were analyzed in a case study of 30 producers. Quantitative data, collected through ecological plot sampling and application of a socio-productive survey, was complemented with ethnographic data. We conclude that, for our case study, the manner in which these new coffee varieties were introduced raises new sources of vulnerability that could be compromising the local and ecological benefits of agroforestry systems, as well as diminishing their capacity to cope with the future impacts of climate change.

Remembered resilience: oral history narratives and community resilience in agroforestry systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Osterhoudt
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Symbolic Resources ◽  
Shared History ◽  
History Narratives

AbstractIn this article, I consider how local oral history narratives provide smallholder farmers with both material and symbolic resources in adapting to climate change. I draw from the case study of an agrarian village in Madagascar that was struck by a destructive category 3 cyclone. In the weeks following the storm, oral history knowledge occupied an increasingly visible role within the community, as younger farmers interacted with elders to hear tales of past storms. Through these shared accounts, people discussed specific techniques on how to cope with environmental uncertainty. They also created a sense of shared history, which provided individuals across generations an entry point into the local historical record. Overall, the process of sharing oral history accounts can contribute to community resilience, with resiliency encompassing not only technical or ecological factors, but also the more affective realms of shared legacies, hope and belonging.

Overcoming Challenges of International Migration Research: A Case Study Approach in Southern Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-143
Author(s):  
Julie Boyles
Keyword(s):  
International Migration ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Migration Research

An ethnographic case study approach to understanding women’s actions and reactions to husbands’ emigration—or potential emigration—offers a distinct set of challenges to a U.S.-based researcher.  International migration research in a foreign context likely offers challenges in language, culture, lifestyle, as well as potential gender norm impediments. A mixed methods approach contributed to successfully overcoming barriers through an array of research methods, strategies, and tactics, as well as practicing flexibility in data gathering methods. Even this researcher’s influence on the research was minimized and alleviated, to a degree, through ascertaining common ground with many of the women. Research with the women of San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico offered numerous and constant challenges, each overcome with ensuing rewards.

scholarly journals Projections of Local Knowledge-Based Adaptation Strategies of Mexican Coffee Farmers

Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Patricia Ruiz-García ◽  
Cecilia Conde-Álvarez ◽  
Jesús David Gómez-Díaz ◽  
Alejandro Ismael Monterroso-Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Coffee Farmers ◽  
Extreme Hydrological Events ◽  
Adaptation Policies

Local knowledge can be a strategy for coping with extreme events and adapting to climate change. In Mexico, extreme events and climate change projections suggest the urgency of promoting local adaptation policies and strategies. This paper provides an assessment of adaptation actions based on the local knowledge of coffee farmers in southern Mexico. The strategies include collective and individual adaptation actions that farmers have established. To determine their viability and impacts, carbon stocks and fluxes in the system’s aboveground biomass were projected, along with water balance variables. Stored carbon contents are projected to increase by more than 90%, while maintaining agroforestry systems will also help serve to protect against extreme hydrological events. Finally, the integration of local knowledge into national climate change adaptation plans is discussed and suggested with a local focus. We conclude that local knowledge can be successful in conserving agroecological coffee production systems.

scholarly journals Shallow groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa: neglected opportunity for sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gowing ◽  
Geoff Parkin ◽  
Nathan Forsythe ◽  
David Walker ◽  
Alemseged Tamiru Haile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Small Scale Irrigation

Abstract. There is a need for an evidence-based approach to identify how best to support development of groundwater for small scale irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We argue that it is important to focus this effort on shallow groundwater resources which are most likely to be used by poor rural communities in SSA. However, it is important to consider constraints, since shallow groundwater resources are likely to be vulnerable to over-exploitation and climatic variability. We examine here the opportunities and constraints and draw upon evidence from Ethiopia. We present a methodology for assessing and interpreting available shallow groundwater resources and argue that participatory monitoring of local water resources is desirable and feasible. We consider possib le models for developing distributed small-scale irrigation and assess its technical feasibility. Because of power limits on water lifting and also because of available technology for well construction, groundwater at depths of 50 m or 60 m cannot be regarded as easily accessible for small-scale irrigation. We therefore adopt a working definition of shallow groundwater as < 20 m depth. This detailed case study in the Dangila woreda in Ethiopia explores the feasibility of exploiting shallow groundwater for small-scale irrigation over a range of rainfall conditions. Variability of rainfall over the study period (9 % to 96 % probability of non-exceedance) does not translate into equivalent variability in groundwater levels and river baseflow. Groundwater levels, monitored by local communities, persist into the dry season to at least the end of December in most shallow wells, indicating that groundwater is available for irrigation use after the cessation of the wet season. Arguments historically put forward against the promotion of groundwater use for agriculture in SSA on the basis that aquifers are unproductive and irrigation will have unacceptable impacts on wetlands and other groundwater-dependent ecosystems appear exaggerated. It would be unwise to generalise from this case study to the whole of SSA, but useful insights into the wider issues are revealed by the case study approach. We believe there is a case for arguing that shallow groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa represents a neglected opportunity for sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture.

scholarly journals Predicting the change of hydraulic loads on bridges: a case study in Italy with a 100-year database

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Pucci ◽  
Hélder S. Sousa ◽  
José C. Matos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Peak Discharge ◽  
Greenhouse Gasses ◽  
Hydraulic Design ◽  
Design Loads ◽  
Hydrological Cycles ◽  
Existing Bridges

<p>Planet Earth is naturally subject to climatic variability, but over the recent decades extreme deviations have been observed. Climate change, as a manmade-induced process, is mainly due to the increase of greenhouse gasses emission. Global warming consequences drive also to an intensification of hydrological cycles, leading to more frequent and severe precipitations. In parallel, several bridges have collapsed in the last years due to extreme rainfalls. Although the impacts of climate change on built environment do not always present a direct cause-effect relation, analysis on specific parameters (as rain volume) that are inputs in bridge design, can clarify some aspects of this interaction. In this paper, the peak discharge variation of different rivers located in the northwest of Italy, within the last 100 years, is analyzed. A cluster analysis was performed to understand if the hydraulic design loads should be considered with a different intensity if the bridge had been built with reference to an up-to-date database, or if in the last decades, when the majority of these structures were built. The rainfall data was analyzed through classical techniques, such as the frequency-based statistical method, but without the stationary time hypothesis. In this case, the extreme value theory was used for the estimation of intensity-duration curve parameters. By introducing a second-order analysis, where random variables can change over time, an increase-trend of rainfall height was found, and the peak discharge was determined accordingly. The relevant parameters on the case-study area were preliminarily obtained through geographic information systems. The results evidenced that nowadays-floods parameters are significantly different from those of the past, and this behavior is escalated when high return period values are assumed. Furthermore, although hydraulic design loads are increasing, many existing bridges are not properly maintained, leading to an increased number of collapses.</p>

Ecological factors limiting occurrence of corticolous myxomycetes – a case study from Alaska

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Schnittler ◽  
N.H.A. Dagamac ◽  
M. Sauke ◽  
M. Wilmking ◽  
A. Buras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Factors

Mentoring Program to Achieve SDGs in Local Contexts: A Case Study in Communities from Southern Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Montserrat Franquesa-Soler ◽  
Juan Carlos A. Sandoval-Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Local Contexts
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