scholarly journals Hydrological sciences and water security: An overview

2015 ◽  
Vol 366 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Young ◽  
S. Demuth ◽  
A. Mishra ◽  
C. Cudennec
Keyword(s):  
International Association ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Trade Patterns ◽  
Earth Systems ◽  
Energy Inputs ◽  
Constant Change ◽  
Demographic Shifts

Abstract. This paper provides an introduction to the concepts of water security including not only the risks to human wellbeing posed by floods and droughts, but also the threats of inadequate supply of water in both quantity and quality for food production, human health, energy and industrial production, and for the natural ecosystems on which life depends. The overall setting is one of constant change in all aspects of Earth systems. Hydrological systems (processes and regimes) are changing, resulting from varying and changing precipitation and energy inputs, changes in surface covers, mining of groundwater resources, and storage and diversions by dams and infrastructures. Changes in social, political and economic conditions include population and demographic shifts, political realignments, changes in financial systems and in trade patterns. There is an urgent need to address hydrological and social changes simultaneously and in combination rather than as separate entities, and thus the need to develop the approach of ‘socio-hydrology’. All aspects of water security, including the responses of both UNESCO and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) to the concepts of socio-hydrology, are examined in detailed papers within the volume titled Hydrological Sciences and Water Security: Past, Present and Future.

scholarly journals New perspectives in ecosystem services science as instruments to understand environmental securities

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1639) ◽  
pp. 20120286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinando Villa ◽  
Brian Voigt ◽  
Jon D. Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Minimum Level ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Methodological Innovation ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Dynamic Expression ◽  
Services Science

As societal demand for food, water and other life-sustaining resources grows, the science of ecosystem services (ES) is seen as a promising tool to improve our understanding, and ultimately the management, of increasingly uncertain supplies of critical goods provided or supported by natural ecosystems. This promise, however, is tempered by a relatively primitive understanding of the complex systems supporting ES, which as a result are often quantified as static resources rather than as the dynamic expression of human–natural systems. This article attempts to pinpoint the minimum level of detail that ES science needs to achieve in order to usefully inform the debate on environmental securities, and discusses both the state of the art and recent methodological developments in ES in this light. We briefly review the field of ES accounting methods and list some desiderata that we deem necessary, reachable and relevant to address environmental securities through an improved science of ES. We then discuss a methodological innovation that, while only addressing these needs partially, can improve our understanding of ES dynamics in data-scarce situations. The methodology is illustrated and discussed through an application related to water security in the semi-arid landscape of the Great Ruaha river of Tanzania.

scholarly journals Changing Neighborhoods and Residents’ Health Perceptions: The Heart Healthy Hoods Qualitative Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Conde ◽  
Marta Gutiérrez ◽  
María Sandín ◽  
Julia Díez ◽  
Luisa Borrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Health Perceptions ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Constant Change

Cities, and therefore neighborhoods, are under constant change. Neighborhood changes may affect residents’ health in multiple ways. The Heart Healthy Hoods (HHH) project studies the association between neighborhood and residents’ health. Focusing on a middle–low-socioeconomic neighborhood in Madrid (Spain), our aim was to describe qualitatively its residents’ perceptions on the urban changes and their impacts on health. We designed a qualitative study using 16 semi-structured interviews including adult residents and professionals living or working in the area. Firstly, we described the perceived main social and neighborhood changes. Secondly, we studied how these neighborhood changes connected to residents’ health perceptions. Perceived major social changes were new demographic composition, new socio–cultural values and economic changes. Residents’ negative health perceptions were the reduction of social relationships, increase of stress and labor precariousness. Positive health perceptions were the creation of supportive links, assimilation of self-care activities and the change in traditional roles. Neighborhood changes yielded both negative and positive effects on residents’ health. These effects would be the result of the interrelation of different elements such as the existence or absence of social ties, family responsibilities, time availability, economic resources and access and awareness to health-promoting programs. These qualitative research results provide important insight into crafting urban health policies that may ultimately improve health outcomes in communities undergoing change.

scholarly journals Robust Future Changes in Meteorological Drought in CMIP6 Projections Despite Uncertainty in Precipitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Ukkola ◽  
Martin De Kauwe ◽  
Michael Roderick ◽  
Gab Abramowitz ◽  
Andy Pitman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Models ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Meteorological Drought ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Drought Duration ◽  
Drought Intensity ◽  
Projected Changes

<p>Understanding how climate change affects droughts guides adaptation planning in agriculture, water security, and ecosystem management. Earlier climate projections have highlighted high uncertainty in future drought projections, hindering effective planning. We use the latest CMIP6 projections and find more robust projections of meteorological drought compared to mean precipitation. We find coherent projected changes in seasonal drought duration and frequency (robust over >45% of the global land area), despite a lack of agreement across models in projected changes in mean precipitation (24% of the land area). Future drought changes are larger and more consistent in CMIP6 compared to CMIP5. We find regionalised increases and decreases in drought duration and frequency that are driven by changes in both precipitation mean and variability. Conversely, drought intensity increases over most regions but is not simulated well historically by the climate models. These more robust projections of meteorological drought in CMIP6 provide clearer direction for water resource planning and the identification of agricultural and natural ecosystems at risk.</p>

scholarly journals Development of Urban Eco-Sustainable Index for Upscaling Water Security at Catchment Level in Langat River, Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahmah Elfithri ◽  
Mazlin Bin Mokhtar ◽  
Mohd Ekhwan Toriman ◽  
Marina Zainal Abidin ◽  
Fang Yenn Teo
Keyword(s):  
Stormwater Management ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Design Management ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Langat River ◽  
Porous Pavement ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
River Conservation

The Urban Eco-Sustainable Index for Upscaling Water Security at Catchment Level in Langat River, Malaysia has developed by using the Modified Watershed Sustainability Index or MicroWSI (MWSI), which was based on the Participation, Design and Management Components. The study has successfully applied spatial and social dimensions on ecohydrology of the selected Langat River reach for stormwater management, natural ecosystems health and quality of life. The planning and public participation aspects of the study have evaluated the surrounding neighborhood area of Langat. The conceptual design of rehabilitation works implementation related to Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (MSMA) Stormwater Management Ecohydrology (SME) within the study area has been developed with four components of MSMA-SME to be implemented in the study area i.e Bioretention System, Porous Pavement System, Constructed Wetland and Slope Protection Works. These components were proposed to be applied in the development of Langat Riverfront Community Park (LRCP) which has taken into account the components of Design, Management and Participation of Community and Stakeholders in Langat River Basin, Malaysia. This study analyzed the MWSI for the Upscaling of MSMA Ecohydrology at Catchment Level of Langat River and has found the medium level of sustainability for the level of participation, proposed design, and management. Thus, there is a need to increase the level of readiness in the community and stakeholder participation in the Langat River towards sustainability of river conservation and rehabilitation programmes in this basin.

scholarly journals Managed Aquifer Recharge for Water Resilience

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Dillon ◽  
Enrique Fernández Escalante ◽  
Sharon B. Megdal ◽  
Gudrun Massmann
Keyword(s):  
International Association ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Managed Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Integrated Water Management ◽  
Acceptable Solution ◽  
Local Water

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is part of the palette of solutions to water shortage, water security, water quality decline, falling water tables, and endangered groundwater-dependent ecosystems. It can be the most economic, most benign, most resilient, and most socially acceptable solution, but frequently has not been implemented due to lack of awareness, inadequate knowledge of aquifers, immature perception of risk, and incomplete policies for integrated water management, including linking MAR with demand management. MAR can achieve much towards solving the myriad local water problems that have collectively been termed “the global water crisis”. This special issue strives to elucidate the effectiveness, benefits, constraints, limitations, and applicability of MAR, together with its scientific advances, to a wide variety of situations that have global relevance. This special issue was initiated by the International Association of Hydrogeologists Commission on Managing Aquifer Recharge to capture and extend from selected papers at the 10th International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (ISMAR10) held in Madrid, Spain, 20–24 May 2019.

Water security and the pursuit of food, energy, and earth systems resilience

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 1055-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Scott ◽  
Tamee R. Albrecht ◽  
Rafael De Grenade ◽  
Adriana Zuniga-Teran ◽  
Robert G. Varady ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Security ◽  
Food Energy ◽  
Earth Systems

Changing foreign trade patterns in post-reform czech industry (1989-1995) - empirical evidence

1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Stolze
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Foreign Trade ◽  
Trade Flows ◽  
Trade Patterns ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Factor Endowments ◽  
Energy Inputs ◽  
Correlation Tests ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
The Eu

Summarizing our analysis we must acknowledge that it is still difficult to get a precise picture of the role which different factors play in determining international competitiveness of industrial branches. The most limits of the analysis are as follows: comprehensive data on input intensities of industrial branches were only available for West European countries; the assumptions necessary for a precise forecast of competitiveness positions through RCA-indicators are not been fulfilled; trade patterns are still distorted by production structures and capacities inherited from the planned economy. Although it may be premature to seriously address the question to what extent factor endowments determine trade flows between the Czech Republic and the EU, we have found a number of interesting tendencies. For the year 1989 correlation tests and an analysis of the most 10, 20 and 30 factor-intensive industries revealed a certain positive effect of capital, labour and energy inputs.

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and the dangers of groundwater overdraft: a review and an Australian perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon C. Nevill ◽  
Peter J. Hancock ◽  
Brad R. Murray ◽  
Winston F. Ponder ◽  
William F. Humphreys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Groundwater Overdraft ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems ◽  
Use Context

In many parts of the world, access to groundwater is needed for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, and global groundwater exploitation continues to increase. The significance of groundwater in maintaining the health of rivers, streams, wetlands and associated vegetation is often underestimated or ignored, resulting in a lack of scrutiny of groundwater policy and management. It is essential that management of groundwater resources considers the needs of natural ecosystems, including subterranean. We review the limited Australian literature on the ecological impacts of groundwater overdraft and place Australian information within an international context, focusing on lentic, lotic, stygobitic and hyporheic communities as well as riparian and phreatophytic vegetation, and some coastal marine ecosystems. Groundwater overdraft, defined as abstracting groundwater at a rate which prejudices ecosystem or anthropocentric values, can substantially impact natural communities which depend, exclusively or seasonally, on groundwater. Overdraft damage is often underestimated, is sometimes irreversible, and may occur over time scales at variance to those used by water management agencies in modelling, planning and regulation. Given the dangers of groundwater overdraft, we discuss policy implications in the light of the precautionary principle, and make recommendations aimed at promoting the conservation of groundwater-dependent ecosystems within a sustainable use context.

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