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König, H. J., Uthes, S., Schuler, J., Zhen, L., Purushothaman, S., Suarma, U., et al. (2013). Regional impact assessment of land use scenarios in developing countries using the FoPIA approach: findings from five case studies. J. Environ. Manage., 127 Suppl, S56–S64.
Abstract: The impact of land use changes on sustainable development is of increasing interest in many regions of the world. This study aimed to test the transferability of the Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA), which was originally developed in the European context, to developing countries, in which lack of data often prevents the use of data-driven impact assessment methods. The core aspect of FoPIA is the stakeholder-based assessment of alternative land use scenarios. Scenario impacts on regional sustainability are assessed by using a set of nine regional land use functions (LUFs), which equally cover the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The cases analysed in this study include (1) the alternative spatial planning policies around the Merapi volcano and surrounding areas of Yogyakarta City, Indonesia; (2) the large-scale afforestation of agricultural areas to reduce soil erosion in Guyuan, China; (3) the expansion of soil and water conservation measures in the Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia; (4) the agricultural intensification and the potential for organic agriculture in Bijapur, India; and (5) the land degradation and land conflicts resulting from land division and privatisation in Narok, Kenya. All five regions are characterised by population growth, partially combined with considerable economic development, environmental degradation problems and social conflicts. Implications of the regional scenario impacts as well as methodological aspects are discussed. Overall, FoPIA proved to be a useful tool for diagnosing regional human-environment interactions and for supporting the communication and social learning process among different stakeholder groups.
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Bonatti, M., Schlindwein, S. L., De Vasconcelos, A. C. F., Sieber, S., Agostini, L. R. D., Lana, M. A., et al. (2013). Social organization and agricultural strategies to face climate variability: a case study in Guaraciaba, southern Brazil. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 2(3), 118.
Abstract: Climate scenarios and projections have suggested that the impacts of climate change on land use will be noticed particularly by the communities that depend on natural resources for their subsistence. The climate vulnerability of poor communities varies greatly, but in general, climate change combines with other threats and becomes superimposed on existing vulnerabilities. This paper presents a case study that strives to understand the social organization in a vulnerable community of Guaraciaba, in southern Brazil, to investigate aspects of an adaptation strategy to climate change based on the local development and conservation of landraces of a set of crop species. Landraces are varieties better adapted to adversities, especially drought, which is an important threat to the famers in the region. Every farmer receives annually a “kit of biodiversity”, a set of local varieties with the amount of seeds necessary to be cultivated in order to produce enough food for the family. The study had a qualitative approach and was carried out through semi-structured interviews with technicians and 30% of the rural families who farm with landraces. The study concludes that the factors that make this adaptation strategy sustainable are: the ability to undertake actions strongly based on local socio-cultural needs (a social support network), biodiversity management practices designed to reduce external economic dependence, self management of genetic resources, the establishment of priorities based on locally available resources, a work plan for community participation (field days, a community based festival), the establishment of the roles of community in the planning and implementation of programs for biodiversity management.
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König, H. J., Helming, K., Seddaiu, G., Kipling, R., Köchy, M., Graversgaard, M., et al. Stakeholder participation in agricultural research: Who should be involved, why, and how?.
Abstract: Research in sustainable agricultural management requires appropriate participatory processes and tools enabling efficient dialogue and cooperation to allow researchers and stakeholders to co-produce knowledge. Research approaches that encourage stakeholder participation are in high demand because they allow a better understanding of human-nature interactions and interdependencies between actors. Participatory approaches also support multiple goals of agricultural management: improved productivity, food security, climate change adaptation, environmental conservation, rural development and policy decision making. Approaches to stakeholder engagement in the field of agricultural management research are manifold. Therefore, selecting the “right” approach depends on the specific purpose and contextualized issues at stake. We analyzed ten stakeholder approaches and propose a new framework with which to identify and select appropriate approaches for stakeholder engagement. The framework consists of three components: whom to engage (i.e., stakeholder type and mandate), why to engage (i.e., research purpose: consult, inform, collaborate), and how to engage (i.e., different methodological approaches). We identified different stakeholder groups (who?): farmers, agricultural actors, land users, and policymakers; different purposes (why?): facilitate engagement process, inform stakeholders, and obtain stakeholder perceptions; and different types of engagement methods (how?): participatory field experiments, desk simulations, interviews, panel discussions and different types of workshops. The framework was applied to arrange these approaches, organize them to improve understanding of their main strengths, weaknesses and supports for identifying and selecting an appropriate approach. We conclude that understanding the different facets of available approaches is crucial for selecting an appropriate stakeholder engagement approach. ;
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Sieber, S., Amjath-Babu, T. S., Jansson, T., Müller, K., Tscherning, K., Graef, F., et al. (2013). Sustainability impact assessment using integrated meta-modelling: Simulating the reduction of direct support under the EU common agricultural policy (CAP). Land Use Policy, 33, 235–245.
Abstract: Assessing the impact of macro-level policy driven land use changes on regional sustainability is an important task that can facilitate complex decision making processes of introducing reforms. The research work demonstrates the ability of Sustainability Impact Assessment Tool (SIAT), a meta-model, in conducting ex ante spatially explicit cross sectoral impact assessments of changes in common agricultural policy (CAP). The meta-model is able to appraise impacts of CAP amendments on land use and their repercussions on multiple indicators of sustainability. The presented study comprehensively analyses the possible impacts of discontinuing direct financial support to farmers under CAP. The simulations of the meta-model are able to reveal the land use changes both at EU and regional levels as well as to bring forth the subsequent changes in a number of indicators representing the regional sustainability (for five case study regions). In a nutshell, the simulations indicate that a reduction in direct support brings in general, a decrease in farmed area, an increase in forested land, less fluctuation in natural vegetation coverage, increase in abandoned arable land area and negligible changes in built-up area despite regionally diverging land use trends. The simulated changes in sustainability indicators for the study regions in consequence to these land use changes show that the discontinuation of subsidies evokes responses that are in general climate friendly (reduction in methane and N2O emissions, diminishing energy use and reduction in global warming potential), economically beneficial (increase in gross value of agriculture) and socially desired (decrease in unemployment rate) as well as environmentally harmful (increase in pesticide use). Even though the appraisals of diversity indicators such as forest deadwood and farmland birds are not conclusive for all regions, the changes are positive for the former indicator and slightly negative for the latter in general. The trade-offs among these regional sustainability indicators using their directional associations are also presented for a comprehensive assessment of the impacts. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: SIAT; CAP; sustainability; impact assessment; land use change; trade off analysis; model; Netherlands; systems
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Sieber, S. (2015). The Tanzanian case study in MACSUR II (Vol. 5).
Abstract: The objective of the Tanzanian case study region is to provide MACSUR II a platform to concentrate climate research to a focal region in Morogoro and Dodoma in Tanzania. Hence, synergies among a number of other research projects will be used, which all focus on food security related to climate change.Within the case study region the projects aim at improving the food situation for the most-vulnerable rural poor population in Tanzania. They are designed to identify successful food securing upgrading strategies and innovations along local and regional food value chains, test and adjust them to site-specific, sustainable settings and tailor these concepts to be disseminated for national outreach. After the project lifetime, the results can be implemented at different levels of policy, extension and research.The basic concept applies the following steps in an iterative and partly recurrent procedure: (1) A stakeholder involvement process will be set up from the beginning as an integral part of most analytical steps; (2) case study sites within the focal regions Morogoro and Dodoma will be selected, set up and typologies of food value chains developed; (3) success stories of secure food production and/or good practice along the food value chains will be screened and inventoried; (4) an integrated in-depth analyses of food value chain components, their costs, benefits and impacts will be carried out; (5) a few of the most promising good practices with regard to positive impacts and implementation will be participatively discussed and identified for subsequent in-depth testing; (6) an in-depth participative field testing and/or analysis of selected, most promising technologies will be conducted for all food value chain components and requirements for implementation identified; (7) transferability and implementation capability will be assessed for different scenarios and for future condition simulations (model analysis); (8) a meta-model analysis including risk analysis and final proofing will identify hot spots of most sensitive, fragile regions and the potentials for alleviating food insecurity. Hence, the research concept`s main focuses on local and regional food security related to climate change, but the research design implies a national outreach for Tanzania as a whole.The research activities will be embedded into local and regional strategies to assess potential impacts and trade-offs and to be able to up-scale lessons learnt in a generic manner to regions with specific bio-physical, socio-cultural and economic conditions.Spatial Design: Conducting a literature research on relevant characteristic a considering the spatial design:two focal regions in Tanzania (Morogoro, Dodoma),each region with two case study sites (CSS) consisting of at least one local marketplace and surrounding 2-3 villages,the two CSS among the target regions are selected to differ in factors such as market and capital access for investments, remoteness, population density, land availability, soil types, infrastructure, facilities, and others,create sufficiently diverse environmental and socio-economic conditions for investigating food securing technologies along FVC and allowing for testing the transfer of results to other Tanzanian regions.Main selection criteria for regions: two climates types:semi-arid Dodoma (350-500mm),semi-humid Morogoro region (600-800mm)clear distinction between the regions.other criteria within the regions:rather similar climate (must) +-80mm,weak and good market access (must) (=market and capital access for investments),rainfed crop–livestock systems oriented, not too strongly paddy rice oriented (< 20% rice) (must),village size: approx. 800-1500 households (must)Stunting cases, logistics and infrastructure, different wards, land availability, facilities, capital, soil types, and population density etc. No Label
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