A Web GIS Decision Support System For Coastal Risk Assessment and Mitigation Planning

Coastal flooding poses serious threats to coastal areas around the world, billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure, and threatens the lives of millions of people. Therefore, disaster management and risk assessment aims at detecting vulnerability and capacities in order to reduce coastal flood disaster risk. In particular, non-specialized researchers, emergency management personnel, and land use planners require an accurate, inexpensive method to determine and map risk associated with storm surge events and long-term sea level rise associated with climate change. This study contributes to the spatially evaluation and mapping of social-economic-environmental vulnerability and risk at sub-national scale through the development of appropriate tools and methods successfully embedded in a Web-GIS Decision Support System. A new set of raster-based models were studied and developed in order to be easily implemented in the Web-GIS framework with the purpose to quickly assess and map flood hazards characteristics, damage and vulnerability in a Multi-criteria approach. The Web-GIS DSS is developed recurring to open source software and programming language and its main peculiarity is to be available and usable by coastal managers and land use planners without requiring high scientific background in hydraulic engineering. The effectiveness of the system in the coastal risk assessment is evaluated trough its application to a real case study.

Farming Systems and Resilience Building in a Changing Climate On-Farm Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Cocoa Cultivation in Alto Beni, Bolivia

Resilience research has been applied to socioeconomic as well as for agroecological studies in the last 20 years. It provides a conceptual and methodological approach for a better understanding of interrelations between the performance of ecological and social systems. In the research area Alto Beni, Bolivia, the production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), is one of the main sources of income. Farmers in the region have formed producers’ associations to enhance organic cocoa cultivation and obtain fair prices since the 1980s. In cooperation with the long-term system comparisons by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Alto Beni, aspects of the field trial are applied for the use in on-farm research: a comparison of soil fertility, biomass and crop diversity is combined with qualitative interviews and participatory observation methods. Fieldwork is carried out together with Bolivian students through the Swiss KFPE-programme Echanges Universitaires. For the system comparisons, four different land-use types were classified according to their ecological complexity during a preliminary study in 2009: successional agroforestry systems, simple agroforestry systems (both organically managed and certified), traditional systems and conventional monocultures. The study focuses on interrelations between different ways of cocoa cultivation, livelihoods and the related socio-cultural rationales behind them. In particular this second aspect is innovative as it allows to broaden the biophysical perspective to a more comprehensive evaluation with socio-ecological aspects thereby increasing the relevance of the agronomic field studies for development policy and practice. Moreover, such a socio-ecological baseline allows to assess the potential of organic agriculture regarding resilience-building face to socio-environmental stress factors. Among others, the results of the pre-study illustrate local farmers’ perceptions of climate change and the consequences for the different crop-systems: all interviewees mentioned rising temperatures and/or an extended dry season as negative impacts more with regard to their own working conditions than to their crops. This was the case in particular for conventional monocultures and in plots where slash-and-burn cultivation was practised whereas for organic agroforestry systems the advantage of working in the shade was stressed indicating that their relevance rises in the context of climate change.

Water quality and health in a Sahelian semi-arid urban context: an integrated geographical approach in Nouakchott, Mauritania

Access to sufficient quantities of safe drinking water is a human right. Moreover, access to clean water is of public health relevance, particularly in semi-arid and Sahelian cities due to the risks of water contamination and transmission of water-borne diseases. We conducted a study in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, to deepen the understanding of diarrhoeal incidence in space and time. We used an integrated geographical approach, combining socio-environmental, microbiological and epidemiological data from various sources, including spatially explicit surveys, laboratory analysis of water samples and reported diarrhoeal episodes. A geospatial technique was applied to determine the environmental and microbiological risk factors that govern diarrhoeal transmission. Statistical and cartographic analyses revealed concentration of unimproved sources of drinking water in the most densely populated areas of the city, coupled with a daily water allocation below the recommended standard of 20 l per person. Bacteriological analysis indicated that 93% of the non-piped water sources supplied at water points were contaminated with 10-80 coliform bacteria per 100 ml. Diarrhoea was the second most important disease reported at health centres, accounting for 12.8% of health care service consultations on average. Diarrhoeal episodes were concentrated in municipalities with the largest number of contaminated water sources. Environmental factors (e.g. lack of improved water sources) and bacteriological aspects (e.g. water contamination with coliform bacteria) are the main drivers explaining the spatio-temporal distribution of diarrhoea. We conclude that integrating environmental, microbiological and epidemiological variables with statistical regression models facilitates risk profiling of diarrhoeal diseases. Modes of water supply and water contamination were the main drivers of diarrhoea in this semi-arid urban context of Nouakchott, and hence require a strategy to improve water quality at the various levels of the supply chain.

Fortaleciéndo la soberanía alimentaria mediante la revalorización de saberes ecológicos locales: experiencia en los Andes bolivianos

Ethnobiology research contributes significantly to initiatives that aim to enhance food sovereignty among indigenous and/or traditional people. In Bolivia, one of the Latin-American countries that shows the highest poverty and undernourishment levels, the purpose of this research-action project was to enhance food sovereignty through the revitalization of the local ecological knowledge and to promote local technological innovation processes in the Andean community of Tallija-Confital. During a first step the endogenous knowledge and strategies related to food security and sovereignty were investigated, based on the principles and tools of the Revitalizing Participatory Research (RPR). In a second step local technical innovation processes were supported through a “knowledge dialogue” between exogenous and endogenous knowledge systems, focusing on the processing of the cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) gluten. The research results demonstrate that Andean people have developed complex endogenous knowledge and strategies to adapt to socio-environmental changes that show a great potential to contribute to the enhancement of food sovereignty. Nevertheless, in the current globalized context that translates into new challenges for local communities, beyond the revitalization of local ecological knowledge, a dialogue between different knowledge systems can lead to important local technological innovation for the improvement of their well-being. Key words: food sovereignty, knowledge dialogue, endogenous development, technological innovation

Is H. pylori infection associated with diarrhea in a cohort of 3- to 8-year-old Colombian children?

The Estudio Comunitario sobre la Salud del Niño cohort study followed 326 3- to 8-year-old Colombian children for 4 years to observe the natural history of Helicobacter pylori infection and identify risk factors for acquisition, recurrence and persistence. Acute H. pylori infection during childhood may predispose to other enteric infections and therefore increase the risk of diarrheal disease. This dissertation aimed to estimate the effect of H. pylori infection on the occurrence of diarrhea and parasitic co-infections. The analysis used Generalized Estimating Equations to obtain odds ratios to estimate relative risks for diarrhea and the Zhang-Yu algorithm to estimate relative risks for on parasitic infections. Andersen-Gill models were used to estimate rate ratios for the effect of H. pylori status on the recurrence of parasitic infections. H. pylori status was classified for the entire follow-up duration in 1 of 3 categories: persistently positive, intermittently positive, and persistently negative. Multivariable models included child’s sex, age, symptoms, medication use, and socio-environmental factors. H. pylori infection was weakly and imprecisely associated with diarrheal disease, which occurred at an unexpectedly low frequency in this study. Persistently H. pylori-positive children had a somewhat higher incidence of reported diarrhea than intermittently positive or persistently negative children. Stratified analysis revealed that the presence of specific helminthes modified the effect of persistent H. pylori infection on diarrhea. The incidence of any parasitic infections was higher in children with persistent H. pylori infection relative to those with intermittent or persistently negative status, but this association did not hold when adjusted for the full set of selected covariates. The effects of H. pylori persistent status were similar for the occurrence or recurrence of Giardia duodenalis, Entamoeba histolytica, and Ascaris lumbricoides. These results show that H. pylori frequently co-exists with other parasites in Andean children and suggest that intermittently H. pylori–positive children might be at a lower risk of parasitic infections than persistently positive children. The relationship of H. pylori infection, helminthic infection and diarrheal disease should be further explored in studies that devote more intensive resources to accurate ascertainment of diarrhea.^

Impactos socioambientales de la expansión del complejo territorial eucalipto-celulosa-papel en el Cerrado brasileño

Fil: Almeida, Rosemeire Ap. de. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil)

Contribuciones al mejoramiento de la calidad de vida y al desarrollo integral de los pobladores del noreste de la provincia de Mendoza : programa I + D

Se propone estudiar la problemática de los pobladores del desierto del noreste de Mendoza, dedicados a la cría de caprinos, en el afán por interpretar y transformar la realidad de estos pobladores. Incluye metodologías interdisciplinarias de proyectos referidos a: profundización del conocimiento de la problemática socio-ambiental y de las necesidades y aspiraciones de los pobladores, cuantificación de la oferta forrajera y su incremento, posibilidades de revegetación con gramíneas peretines nativas, uso adecuado de los bosques de algarrobo, producción caprina diversificada, implementación de huertas familiares y la producción local de energia eléctrica, a partir de energía solar. Los pobladores viven en puestos aislados y por lo general carecen de energía eléctrica, agua potable y tecnologías apropiadas. Existen problemas de salud con características propias, entre ellos patologías orales que son evaluadas y atendidas para lograr la sustentabilidad de la salud bucal. Se contempla una participación interactiva, en la cual la comunidad comparte el análisis, las decisiones y el desarrollo de las acciones.

As lavouras de grãos como atividades de desenvolvimento e integração da Região da Grande Dourados ao circuito produtivo nacional

Led to become a national productive Center, the Great Dourados Region, which consists of 40 cities located in the south of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul - Brazil, emerged as a grain productive region from the middle of the 1970s in the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century. Using modern agricultural techniques, the land organization in this region was ruled by a development policy which was not concerned with the socio environmental aspects of the area. In this context, the present work aims to analyze the development process of the Great Dourados region, through soybean production and its relation to the confinement of the indigenous people present in the Area. This integration happened due to the money and for it, inserting this Region into a national productive pattern which guided the farmers to modern crops, mainly soybean. The land cultivation was not the only productive activity that granted the Region an economic integration, to both the national and international market. From the end of the Paraguay War (1870) to the middle of the 70s, there were at least two other ways to the regional economic integration. One of them happened with the traditional activities of cattle raising and the extraction of the Paraguay tea (maté/ Yerba Mate) from 1870 to 1937, which divided the regional territory into large farmlands focused on the external market. The other way happened with the need to create a market for the agricultural production and for the demand for manufactured goods, which reorganized the regional territory into small farmlands, as a result of colonization projects from 1943 to 1956. Since 1976, with the creation of the Special Program for the Development of the Great Dourados Region (Prodegran), the capitalist relations of production, which were consolidated in the area, were not ruled almost exclusively by the traditional activities of cattle raising and the extraction of the Paraguay tea, in order to create a new accumulation center connected to the modern crops. As this new accumulation center was created, the Region was led to a selective and dependent integration process, in which many farmers changed their accumulation centers to modern grain crops, causing environmental degradation, productive exclusion and ethnical-cultural conflicts with the indigenous community

Enseñanza de la geografía e Informática : El uso del SIG en una experiencia pedagógica innovadora

El presente trabajo da cuenta de una experiencia pedagógica innovadora realizada en el marco del Convenio DINIECE, MECYT - FAHCE, UNLP. Plantea la utilización de los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) con fines pedagógicos. Dicha experiencia se llevó a cabo en el curso "Seminario de Itinerarios Urbanos" en el Colegio Nacional "Rafael Hernández" de la UNLP. Partiendo de una concepción crítica desde la Geografía y desde la Didáctica, se incentivó a los alumnos/as a comprender la realidad socio-ambiental en la cual están inmersos. Para ello se identificaron, desde el análisis territorial y espacial, problemáticas ambientales en el partido de La Plata. Los alumnos/as vivenciaron y experimentaron una forma de trabajo en la que la innovación estuvo dada por la utilización de nuevas tecnologías -SIG- en consonancia con una metodología didáctica que fomenta aprendizajes significativos.

La expansión de monocultivos de exportación en Argentina y Costa Rica : Conflictos socioambientales y lucha campesina por la justicia ambiental

El trabajo analiza la expansión del monocultivo extractivista en Costa Rica y la Argentina en detrimento del capital natural y las poblaciones campesinas. La metodología incluyó entrevistas realizadas a campo en ambos países y consultas a fuentes documentales, periodísticas y bibliográficas. Se concluye que los conflictos ecosociales son provocados por la ausencia de un ordenamiento territorial, la escasa fiscalización estatal en materia ambiental y la alianza de los gobiernos con el capital concentrado. En este contexto, también se evidencian estrategias de resistencia de los campesinos que luchan por la justicia ambiental y la concreción de una institucionalidad socioambiental acorde con sus intereses

Enseñanza de la geografía e Informática : El uso del SIG en una experiencia pedagógica innovadora

El presente trabajo da cuenta de una experiencia pedagógica innovadora realizada en el marco del Convenio DINIECE, MECYT - FAHCE, UNLP. Plantea la utilización de los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) con fines pedagógicos. Dicha experiencia se llevó a cabo en el curso "Seminario de Itinerarios Urbanos" en el Colegio Nacional "Rafael Hernández" de la UNLP. Partiendo de una concepción crítica desde la Geografía y desde la Didáctica, se incentivó a los alumnos/as a comprender la realidad socio-ambiental en la cual están inmersos. Para ello se identificaron, desde el análisis territorial y espacial, problemáticas ambientales en el partido de La Plata. Los alumnos/as vivenciaron y experimentaron una forma de trabajo en la que la innovación estuvo dada por la utilización de nuevas tecnologías -SIG- en consonancia con una metodología didáctica que fomenta aprendizajes significativos.

La expansión de monocultivos de exportación en Argentina y Costa Rica : Conflictos socioambientales y lucha campesina por la justicia ambiental

El trabajo analiza la expansión del monocultivo extractivista en Costa Rica y la Argentina en detrimento del capital natural y las poblaciones campesinas. La metodología incluyó entrevistas realizadas a campo en ambos países y consultas a fuentes documentales, periodísticas y bibliográficas. Se concluye que los conflictos ecosociales son provocados por la ausencia de un ordenamiento territorial, la escasa fiscalización estatal en materia ambiental y la alianza de los gobiernos con el capital concentrado. En este contexto, también se evidencian estrategias de resistencia de los campesinos que luchan por la justicia ambiental y la concreción de una institucionalidad socioambiental acorde con sus intereses

As lavouras de grãos como atividades de desenvolvimento e integração da Região da Grande Dourados ao circuito produtivo nacional

Led to become a national productive Center, the Great Dourados Region, which consists of 40 cities located in the south of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul - Brazil, emerged as a grain productive region from the middle of the 1970s in the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century. Using modern agricultural techniques, the land organization in this region was ruled by a development policy which was not concerned with the socio environmental aspects of the area. In this context, the present work aims to analyze the development process of the Great Dourados region, through soybean production and its relation to the confinement of the indigenous people present in the Area. This integration happened due to the money and for it, inserting this Region into a national productive pattern which guided the farmers to modern crops, mainly soybean. The land cultivation was not the only productive activity that granted the Region an economic integration, to both the national and international market. From the end of the Paraguay War (1870) to the middle of the 70s, there were at least two other ways to the regional economic integration. One of them happened with the traditional activities of cattle raising and the extraction of the Paraguay tea (maté/ Yerba Mate) from 1870 to 1937, which divided the regional territory into large farmlands focused on the external market. The other way happened with the need to create a market for the agricultural production and for the demand for manufactured goods, which reorganized the regional territory into small farmlands, as a result of colonization projects from 1943 to 1956. Since 1976, with the creation of the Special Program for the Development of the Great Dourados Region (Prodegran), the capitalist relations of production, which were consolidated in the area, were not ruled almost exclusively by the traditional activities of cattle raising and the extraction of the Paraguay tea, in order to create a new accumulation center connected to the modern crops. As this new accumulation center was created, the Region was led to a selective and dependent integration process, in which many farmers changed their accumulation centers to modern grain crops, causing environmental degradation, productive exclusion and ethnical-cultural conflicts with the indigenous community

Enseñanza de la geografía e Informática : El uso del SIG en una experiencia pedagógica innovadora

El presente trabajo da cuenta de una experiencia pedagógica innovadora realizada en el marco del Convenio DINIECE, MECYT - FAHCE, UNLP. Plantea la utilización de los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) con fines pedagógicos. Dicha experiencia se llevó a cabo en el curso "Seminario de Itinerarios Urbanos" en el Colegio Nacional "Rafael Hernández" de la UNLP. Partiendo de una concepción crítica desde la Geografía y desde la Didáctica, se incentivó a los alumnos/as a comprender la realidad socio-ambiental en la cual están inmersos. Para ello se identificaron, desde el análisis territorial y espacial, problemáticas ambientales en el partido de La Plata. Los alumnos/as vivenciaron y experimentaron una forma de trabajo en la que la innovación estuvo dada por la utilización de nuevas tecnologías -SIG- en consonancia con una metodología didáctica que fomenta aprendizajes significativos.