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The southeast of Córdoba province used to be originally covered by hundreds of wetlands that got heavily modified or drained in the last few decades. Since wetlands provide various important ecosystem services (ESS) for human well-being, their degradation created several problems in La Picasa basin, among which floods are the most obvious one. The wise use of wetlands is increasingly acknowledged to be part of nature-based solution approaches reducing disaster risk. However, in the study area these approaches remain a relatively new concept to decision makers and the lack of knowledge on their effectiveness and implementation process poses a serious barrier to their adoption.
To overcome this obstacle, this dissertation applies an ESS perspective on the current problems of La Picasa basin and sets it in a context of socio-ecological system (SES) theory. A comprehensive analysis of (1) the role wetlands have played in the historic development of the SES, (2) important stakeholder dynamics that create opportunities or restrictions for the conservation of wetlands and (3) possible management approaches to inverse negative ESS trade-offs and feedback loops, was performed.
Results demonstrate that the current problems of floods have both natural and anthropogenic causes. In this regard, wetlands hold a vital role in the complex historic interactions between the social and ecological drivers of changes in the water balance. Although a social network between stakeholders exists, several conflicts prevent a proper functioning of a basin-wide integrated management concept based on wetland restoration. Nature-based solution approaches, putting wetlands in the center of attention of future management strategies, were found to hold a high potential to reduce the risk of floods and, as a side-effect boost biodiversity and habitat quality in the study area.
The Highland Plateau region, in San Luis Potosí, involves particular dynamics and needs from those presented within the rest of the state; its culture, vocation, mineral resources and territory, converge to give rise to a unique and particular region. The connectivity within the region has been decisive for its development, since two of the largest and most important national roads in go through this territory.
Despite comprehending about a half of the state's territory, this region has not managed to truly influence the state statistics neither economically nor socially; on the contrary, the employment rate has significantly decreased significantly, and also its population number.
Accordingly, this research aims to analyze the connectivity system within this region to strengthen and complement the development tools of these communities in a sustainable manner and, in this way, increase the welfare of the Highland Plateau population.
Throughout this investigation, it will be possible to understand how the location of this physical network, as well as for the use of resources for the satisfaction of the inhabitants, has been reflected in the communities within this region. Likewise, the statements made by state directors in charge of the economy, road network and social development within the region, will be studied. These statements will also be combined with a “functional grid analysis”, the connectivity between communities and their basic needs.
Habitat loss due to land use and land cover change (LUCC) has been identified as the main cause of global environmental change, responsible for biodiversity decline and the deterioration of ecological processes. Habitat loss and fragmentation have been driven by
processes of LUCC such as deforestation, agricultural expansion and intensification, urbanization, and globalization. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of LUCC on the process of habitat loss and the patterns of fragmentation in the surrounding landscape of the Pacuare Reserve (PR) in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. The PR is a protected area of 800 ha surrounded by an agricultural landscape with a history of over 150 years of bananas monocultures. Landsat satellite images from 1978 to 2020 were used to conduct a temporal analysis of LUCC around the PR. Patterns of change were explored using landscape metrics from the land classification images. To explore potential connectivity routes, the least cost path analysis was used to connect the PR to other protected areas. Overall, forest cover decreased in the study area at a rate of -4.8% per year during the period of 1992-1997. In the year 2001 it reached its lowest cover and then increased at a mean annual rate of 1.6%. A mean overall accuracy of 92% was obtained for the land classification process. A clear fragmentation process was observed, as shown by a decreased in forest mean patch area and largest patch index and by the increase in patch density. Although forest cover increased in the last decade, fragmentation metrics suggest this recover happened in a spatially scattered manner, due to agricultural land abandonment. Connectivity maps showed the importance of forest fragments and of the already established biological corridors for the movement of species to and from the PR, however it also evidenced the lack of connectivity between the coastal forest fragments and further inside the country located protected areas, as well as the need to promote reforestation projects, particularly between fragments of the corridors identified.
In Sierra Leone, at the moment 10 out of the total 14 districts are faced with the problem of large-scale land investments for industrial agriculture (oil palm, sugarcane…). The production is mainly for the local, regional and world market. There are quite many of these investments in the planning stage, while some are extending their operations by taking more land from communities or are already at the production stage. Studies and media reports have claimed a number of negative impacts felt in communities hosting these companies, ranging from loss of land, food insecurity, increase in poverty to loss of livelihoods, environmental degradation as well as social and cultural problems. The goal of this thesis is to examine the impacts of the operations of “Socfin Agriculture Company” on food security of local communities in Malen Chiefdom, Pujehun District of Sierra Leone.
Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used for data collection, analyses, and interpretation of results. The research uses household income and expenditure to compare household food security before and after the start of the company’s operations. It examines consequences of community’s loss of land to support household food production versus casual wage earn from employment created by the company to meet household food security.
The results show a loss of household’s income sources and a significant decrease in households’ income. Households’ food crop production has reduced accompanied by a complete loss of cash crop farming. Households affected by the operations of the company have lost access to land and other natural resources that support food production. Furthermore, the company employs very few people in comparison to the total population of affected communities. Calculation of total wage earn from employment by the company cannot meet the staple food (rice) needs of the households. Also, households claimed a host of unfilled promises made by the company and national government at the onset of the operations of the company.
In conclusion, household food production is the most significant determinant for household food security, with regards to food availability, accessibility, utilization and stability of supply. Therefore, national government should carefully study and develop a framework that addresses food security of households impacted by the operations of the rapidly growing large-scale land investment companies and ensure a fair share of the local community in the economic development of the country and suggesting ways of improving access rights in the context of tenure.
While global food production greatly exceeds dietary energy demand, undernutrition remains, and diets largely fail to ensure the health of the population. Agricultural biodiversity is crucial for the world’s food security, but genetic diversity has been degraded. In Mexico, the dietary transition towards processed foods has contributed to malnutrition and a rise of diet-related chronic diseases. Mexico’s indigenous people are conserving and creating valuable plant genetic resources in their swidden milpas and traditional agroforestry systems but remain the country’s most vulnerable population group. The Teenek (or Huastec), an indigenous group that habitat the Huasteca Potosina, a region in north-eastern Mexico cultivate a high diversity of edible plants in their home gardens (solar), milpas, and agroforestry systems (te’lom, or finca). However, migration has been leading to the abandonment of traditional farming in the region.
The objective of this study was to analyse if the managed agricultural biodiversity of the different traditional land use systems contributes to the food security of the farming households in the community of Jol Mom. Food availability and access were investigated. In total, 40 households were surveyed. Dietary patterns were identified through principal component analysis. Informal interviews, semi-structured interviews and participant observation allowed to account for the people’s own perceptions and provided additional insights. Findings showed that traditional Teenek farming systems are the source of a variety of nutritious foods and resulted to be the most important provider of fruits and vegetables. The average production diversity was 34 out of 56 crops, farmers cultivating more than one or two farming systems showed an increase of four and 11 produced species respectively. Production diversity was strongly correlated with food variety in a household’s diet, with an increment of one per 0.85 produced crop. Two main diverging dietary patterns were revealed, a westernized diet relying largely on purchased foods, to which the younger generation was more inclined, and a traditional diet characterized by a high consumption of cultivated products, mostly observed in the older households.
In conclusion, farming households in Jol Mom profit from the agricultural diversity of their production systems, either through the consumption of nutritious foods or by the sale of agricultural products. However, a tendency towards nutrient-poor diets was observed. Increasing agricultural diversity and consumption of locally produced foods might help to fight this trend but would require a valorisation of traditional foods and an appreciation of the contribution of indigenous people’s traditional agriculture to food security.
Urban settlements demand the highest levels of resource consumption and waste management.
It has been accepted that cities should be considered organisms. Through Urban Energy Metabolism the planning and management of energy that flows across cities achieves important developments towards sustainability. Energy Efficiency is one of the primary tools used to produce sustainable development. Cities worldwide are developing action plans that implement the teachings of holism and eco-friendly practices. Systems Theory is a field developed with the intention of managing systems based on interdisciplinarity and a holistic approach. Fundamental practices of systems thinking are applicable to the study of cities as sustainable organisms/complex systems. Planning for Energy Efficient Cities (PLEEC) is an European project that was executed by a group of participants from the public, private, and education sectors, with the purpose of designing energy efficiency action plans to meet the targets of 2020. This work introduces, based on a literature review, several systems theories. A critique of the characteristics of PLEEC’s framework is performed to assess the level of systemic consideration into holism and sustainability. The evaluation of the process or success of the energy efficiency plans elaborated is not in the scope of the research. Using a modified version of Michael C.
Jackson’s Total Systems Intervention and a table that summarizes the principles of systems thinking, it is concluded that the plan lacks systemic consideration of cities as complex systems. The framework includes several concepts attributed to the field, such as interconnection of elements exchanging information and resources, but fails in defining self-organizing feedback based structures and function-driven behavior. It is of paramount importance that system thinking basics be at the core of all planning.
Elaeis guineensis Jacq. or oil palm is a native species of West Africa. Its oils, extracted from the fruit mesocarp and the kernel are widely used in the food industry, industrial applications, and bioenergy production. Due to its versatility, profitability and growing demand, the global oil palm agroindustry raises concerns regarding deforestation, effects in biodiversity, contamination and related to social issues such as labor conditions, poverty, and social conflicts. In Mexico, the establishment and subsequent growth of the oil palm industry was promoted by past government policies and financial support. In Chiapas the current main producer of the country, the expansion can be also attributed to oil palm resilience to floods, hurricanes, and the economic profitability.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the sustainability status of the oil palm production system within Acapetahua and Villa Comaltitlán Municipalities by analyzing the indicators of sustainability. To achieve this, the Evaluation Framework for Natural Resource Management Systems (MESMIS), was adapted to measure the attributes status of productivity, stability, reliability, resilience, self-management, equity, and adaptability, of the different dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social, political, and economic).
It was identified that MESMIS is an appropriate framework to study oil palm system in Acapetahua and Villa Comaltitlán municipalities. The methodology allowed the identification of critical points, and relevant indicators that include land use and vegetation cover changes, oil palm cashflow, good agricultural practices, farmers´ training, level of participation and farmers´ well-being. As a result, it was identified that vegetation and land use changes were principally from pastures land and previous oil palm plantations, and a positive profitability in the last two years. Soil and water conservation practices are implemented, and farmers have received different trainings principally from social mills, but other good agricultural practices and awareness of social problems should be improved, while the social participation evaluation showed a weak status of the political dimension.
Based on the idea of sustainable development, the BioTrade principles and criteria (P&C), based on the idea of sustainable development, have been the essential core guiding the implementation of BioTrade activities since their inception by UNCTAD in 2007. However, after identifying that BioTrade of medicinal plants causes negative impacts on the traditional knowledge related to these plants, the P&C were evaluated in light of the most relevant international agreements that contribute to the safeguarding of this knowledge. The result obtained from the assessment showed that the P&C present many gaps that prevent evaluating the real impact of trade on the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Indigenous and local communities. Therefore, in the same framework of the current P&C, the main recommendations contained in the international agreements and the suggestions of specialists in the field have been gathered to create a BioTrade standard that contributes to safeguarding traditional medicinal plant knowledge within a commercial context in any BioTrade initiative where the commercialized product is a sacred or native plant with traditional and cultural value for a community.
Food insecurity, poor nutrition and poverty are closely linked and entail adverse consequences for the health and well-being of children and adults. They constitute major constraints to development efforts as they can imply lifelong negative effects on human development with impairments on physical and mental capacities of a population, resulting in an overall lower productivity and economic growth potential.
Urban agriculture has been advocated as a strategy to improve food security. This paper exemplifies an urban gardening project that addresses food security and economic resilience of the Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities executed in the suburbs of Beirut. The hypothesis underpinning this study is that urban agriculture holds the potential to contribute to increased food security and reduced urban poverty, by increasing the availability and accessibility to a variety of fresh foods that are rich in vital nutrients and by functioning as a source of livelihoods and income.
The brutality of the Syrian Civil War, it’s massive damage and destruction of housing and persecutions for ethnic cleansing led more than a quarter of its originally 24 million inhabitants to seek safety in neighboring countries and Europe. The war has severely hampered the stability and development throughout the region as hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to neighboring countries where they often compete with host communities over housing, labor, water, food and land. In relative numbers the biggest burden fell on the riparian country Lebanon, currently holding the highest ratio of refugees to nationals in the world. The small Arab country has already been suffering from many pre-existing challenges as food insecurity and widespread poverty.
The high dependence on food assistance, limited access to income and uncertainties on the amount of food aid provided in each upcoming year, all contribute to an unstable and low food security status of Syrian refugee households in Lebanon with spill overs to vulnerable host communities. In 2017, 91% of Syrian families residing in Lebanon remained food insecure to some degree and the share of household’s falling into severe food insecurity keeps increasing with every year.
These numbers provide clear evidence that current efforts of providing food assistance are not sufficient to combat the repercussions of the crisis and get the situation under control.
The paper displays the impact of the urban gardening project on the food security and economic resilience of participating household’s, as well as lessons learned on the project design during and after the implementation phase. The sampling frame is comprised of Syrian and Lebanese families participating in the project. Primary data were derived from a survey using a questionnaire with a sample size of 41 households. The findings aim to enable stakeholders to improve the performance of similar projects in the future and support relevant government authorities, international aid institutions, non-profits and the civic society towards creating sustainable long-term solutions to increase the self-reliance of refugees by providing insights of the suitability of UA for multiple objectives and by highlighting potential challenges and risks.
Urbanization processes are one of the main factors for habitat loss and fragmentation, driving global biodiversity loss and species extinction. The neotropical Atlantic forest in Brazil is considered a global key biodiversity hotspot and used to be one of the most extensive forests of the Americas. Due to substantial deforestation over centuries, its landscape was transformed into a mosaic of small forest fragments surrounded by a predominantly agricultural matrix. Urban expansion and rural urbanization have created peri-urban zones, which still can harbor natural habitat remnants,
contributing to biological diversity and thus providing essential ecosystem services to urban and rural areas. The maintenance of such ecosystem services requires an understanding of the ecological processes in the ecosystem. A prerequisite for such an in-depth insight is the quantification of the underlying ecosystem functions. The ecosystem function pest control, a trophic interaction between insectivorous birds and herbivorous arthropods, was quantified in an empirical study using artificial caterpillars as prey models. This technique allows the identification of predator groups and the assessment of their predation rates. A total of 888 plasticine caterpillars were distributed at eight sites in secondary forest fragments surrounding the university campus of the federal university of São Carlos (UFScar) in peri-urban Sorocaba, southeastern Brazil. In sixteen point counts, 72 insect-eating birds, belonging to 19 species, were identified as possible artificial caterpillar attackers. Local habitat variables were measured to describe the forest vegetation structure and the landscape context. The study aimed to assess which structural components of the
forest fragments, together with the recorded bird community variables (abundance, richness, αdiversity), best explain the estimated predation rates by birds. The mean predation rate for birds was 8.25 ± 6.3 % for a reference period of eight days, representing the first quantification of the ecosystem function pest control for the study area. The three treatments of caterpillar placement heights (ground, stem: 0.5 -1.0 m, leaf: 1.5 - 2.0 m) were the best and only estimator to explain bird
predation rates. The little dense understory and ground vegetation might have facilitated the accessibility of artificial caterpillars, especially for carnivorous arthropods and birds. The detected contrast in their foraging and predation patterns suggests that arthropods and birds complement each other in their function of pest control. Bird predation rates were found to be negatively related to the vegetation structure. Thus, more open habitats, with less understory and low tree density, but high canopy cover and including dead trees were correlated with the highest predation rates and also exhibited more specialized forest-dependent bird species. This study confirms the importance of the maintenance of forest fragments in peri-urban areas, even if they are small, to preserve forest-associated birds, to contribute to the biological diversity on a broader scale, and to prevent the loss of ecosystem functions and services, mitigating some of the adverse effects of urbanization. Further investigation of the effect among the three treatments of caterpillar
placement on the predation rates is encouraged, including comparative studies among different habitat types. For future studies, it is recommended to model the avian community variables with the vegetation structure measures to predict habitat preferences of insectivorous birds. Therefore, the sampling of more units and on a bigger scale, including over a more extended period, is necessary to improve the robustness of the results, which could provide the basis for a monetary analysis of the ecosystem service pest control by birds.
Plants have certain characteristics which allow them to respond to various environmental conditions, like changes in climate, water loss in the soil, lack of minerals; among others. In some of these so-called traits, the responses to climatic phenomena such as drought can be evidenced through morphological adaptations (spines, succulent tissues, trichomes, among others) or physiological adaptations (regulation of water potential at the cellular level, the concentration of nutrients, etc.)
In certain areas of Brazil such as the Mata Atlântica biome, drought events are increasingly occurring and affecting human activities and the environment, and it is required to understand if tree species with traits adapted to dry conditions are occurring in drought-prone areas. For this reason, it is intended to find out the potential of using morphological functional traits of woody species as indicators of dry conditions in the transition zone of the Atlantic Forest. RJ Brazil.
Therefore, this work was carried out considering a field phase in a drought-prone area known as “Mata de Tabuleiros” or Semideciduous Seasonal Lowland Forest that belongs to the domain of the Mata Atlântica, there were selected morphological traits in order to know which of them can give a hint as drought tolerant traits. On the other side, there was searched in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden JABOT database for species with recorded characteristics related to drought adaptations. For the traits in the field, and the selected species from the database was elaborated a Species Distribution Model SDM in order to know how some climatic variables allow the distribution of species and morphological traits.
As main result there was elaborated a set of trait indicators that can be considered for further analysis in the region; and also the results of the SDM obtained at large scale for the Mata Atlântica for the species selected from the database, and the SDM for the traits analyzed in the field in the Mata de Tabuleiros. Besides that, the consultations with experts in the subject were an important input that allowed to carry out this research. The use of morphological and functional traits is important to understand the interactions between organisms and their environment, in this case, to cope and tolerate a climate phenomenon like drought.
Keywords: Mata de Tabuleiros, Drought tolerance, Morphological traits, Species Distribution Modeling
The objective of this study was to evaluate at the local level in two municipalities of the Northwest Region of Rio de Janeiro State, the perception of smallholder farmers to climate change. Also, part of the study was to identify their measures to adapt, that include the preservation and mitigation of impacts on the regulating and provisioning soil ecosystem services, and their coping capacities to extended drought periods.
Soils are complex, evolving systems that simultaneously shape and are shaped by numerous biotic and abiotic factors in a vast web of interactions that creates the conditions for the propagation of life and the maintenance of human societies. Yet, land use and land use change (LULUC) and anthropogenic climate change (CC) are forcing substantial and rapid alterations into soil’s properties and processes, thus affecting the functions and services derived from it. The resulting land degradation (LD) is now spread, according to recent estimates, over nearly 30 % of the world’s total land, mostly on the population dense and impoverished tropics, a zone predicted to withstand the worst impacts of CC. The Atlantic Forest in Brazil is a particularly vulnerable environment, and the unusual drought of 2014-2017 that hit its Southeastern region is likely the harbinger of a progressively drier future.
The way the prelude of what might be an increasingly frequent hazard affected farmers’ livelihoods and natural resources, and the manner in which they reacted to those impacts can thus reveal points of strength and fragility that could be respectively harnessed or addressed to develop a more sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. This master thesis focused on characterizing those impacts and reactions on distinct dairy production systems in two municipalities in Northwestern Rio de Janeiro: Santo Antônio de Pádua and Cambuci. Through interviews and in loci observations, the researcher collected data concerning environmental services (erosion prevention, soil cover and water provision), production variables (inputs and outputs), socio-economic information, farm system management and farmers’ future perspectives. The results show that dairy production systems in the region are heterogeneous and, although they may share common characteristics, drought outcomes were closely tied to the specificities of each farm. Ultimately, outcomes originated from differences in water supply, water demand, and feed availability, their subsequent change by the drought and farmers’ reaction to those changes at each property.
This project is focused on the generation of hardware independent code for PLCs and the comparison for energy consumption patterns of hydraulic and electric drive unit. This works is dedicated to MLC (mould level control) in a continuous casting machine, which is used to cast steel slabs continuously. The code generation is done with the help of the PLC coder which is present in the software Simulink. The programming is done entirely in MATLAB. The application of the generated code is tested on the Siemens S7-1500 PLC. For executing the code and the development of the HMI (human machine
interface) Siemens software TIA Portal V15 has been used. Moreover, for further analysis of signals and testing the code, a PDA or process data acquisition system, IBA system is used. For energy analysis also the IBA system is used.
Located in the Urubamba mountain range, the Chicón glacier is the third highest tropical glacier of this area and the source of water for the Chicón watershed. Moreover, from this watershed four communities obtain water for human consumption and agriculture, which is their main economic activity. In the last years glacier retreat is evident in the area and threatens the livelihoods of the people because it affects the availability of fresh water.
The general objective of this research is to analyse the perception of people living in this watershed to climate change, disaster risk, and ecosystem-based solutions. The specific objectives are to identify natural hazards and climate change effects in the community, to recognise potential ecosystem services suitable for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR), and to assess to which climate change effects and disasters the communities are vulnerable based on their own perception. The methodological steps are based on literature review, expert interviews, questionnaires to the community, a workshop and field observations.
The results show that people perceive changes in the climate such as increase in temperature, less precipitation and shifts of the rainy and the dry season. The climate-related disasters that were identified are Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), droughts, frosts and hailstorms. However, GLOFs are not frequent in the area and drought is the hazard that people consider will be more frequent. Additionally, pests were identified as biological hazards. Several ecosystems services can be obtained for EbA and Eco-DRR from forests, especially if native trees such as Qiwiña (Polylepis spp.), Chachacoma (Escallonia resinosa) and Aliso (Alnus jorullensis) are used in ecosystem management. Finally, the hypothesis was partially accepted since people in the study area are to some extent aware of climate change impacts, but only partially understand causes and effects. Further, they recognize most of the ecosystem services that forests provide. Therefore they are starting to implement ecosystem-based solutions in the watershed with the support of external institutions.
Researchers are always looking for innovative ways to collect the environmental data and ease the process of data collection on the field. Advancement in sensor technologies and drones has led to easy technological access to design custom solutions even with basic electronics and technical knowledge. This paper documents, construction and working of “ITT Smart Sense”, which is a low power, easy to use and cost effective environment monitoring system using wireless sensor network that runs autonomously on battery power for an extended period of time. Along with that, a UAV based platform, titled “ITT Smart Sense Fly”, focused on environmental monitoring and scientific research and is tailored to the needs of researchers has been proposed in this paper. This platform is comprised of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/Drone with a camera sensor, an autopilot mobile app for mission planning and other required Photogrammetry tools. The drone navigates over the area of interest based on a pre-programmed flight plan and captures a series of photographs using the on-board camera. The collected image data set is processed to create orthomosaics, high resolution maps and 3D point cloud. The proposed solutions were demonstrated with three distinct case studies.
Chagas disease is a parasitic infection endemic to America, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi and mainly transmitted to humans by contact with insect species of the Triatominae subfamily (Hemiptera). The disease is known to affect disproportionally rural impoverished human communities where it is known to cause premature death and is considered a social and economic burden. The Mexican government has made important progress into the detection, surveillance, treatment, and prevention of the disease in the last decades, however, Chagas disease has also been reported in areas where it had not been previously reported, and there are still barriers for access to treatment. In the state of San Luis Potosi, the disease is more studied in the east, nevertheless, it has been estimated that the reported cases of the entire state have been underestimated. New approaches to detect Chagas risk areas could help prioritize locations for Chagas disease education and prevention programs, detect cases of the disease in a timely manner, and provide access to the necessary treatments. The objective of this study was to identify risk areas for the transmission of Chagas disease in San Luis Potosí using species distribution modelling to estimate vectors and reservoirs’ distributions. To do this, firstly, important vectors and one reservoir species of T. cruzi were identified by reviewing their reported infection rates in literature and the number of times reported in Mexico. Next, species distribution models were calculated for the chosen vector and reservoir species present in the state. The models were done using the Maxent algorithm. Lastly, the resulting distribution models were combined into a risk map by thresholding the model outputs to produce binary predictions and then performing an overlap spatial analysis. Vector species were found to have suitable areas in 36.08% of the state’s territory while areas suitable for both vectors and reservoir were 7.4% of the state’s total area. While this figure may look small at first glance, the analysis suggests that 30% of the rural population and 52% of the urban population of the state are living in an area suitable for vectors and reservoir and therefore at risk. Species distribution modelling can be a powerful tool for identifying human populations at risk of contracting Chagas disease. In the future, including different species of reservoirs into the analysis could help to discover new risk areas in the state.
Zusammenfassung
Ansatz der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, mit Blick auf den in einer großen Variationsbreite existierenden Brauprozess in Brauereien mit unterschiedlichster jährlicher Produktionsmenge und technologischem Stand, die wesentlichen charakteristischen Teilprozessschritte hinsichtlich Ihrer Bedarfe an den thermischen Energieformen Wärme und Kälte, unter Berücksichtigung der jeweils in den Teilprozessen herrschenden Temperaturniveaus, darzustellen. Dies ist in Kapitel 2 sowohl für die in Trocknungsprozessen vorbehandelten feststofflichen Braukomponente Gerstenmalz und Hopfen, sowie für die mit dem Beginn der Erwärmung von frischem Brauwasser startenden Prozesse des Einmaischens, Läuterns, Kochens, Gärens bis hin zur Reifung des Jungbieres, erfolgt. Zunächst wurde das jeweilige Temperaturniveau der einzelnen Phasen des Brauvorgangs, trotz seiner unterschiedlichen verfahrenstechnischen Realisierung, abgesteckt. In Kapitel 5 wird der rein für den Prozess notwendige Wärme- und Kältebedarf, auf der Basis der wesentlichen Zustandsänderungen des entstehenden Produktes, bestimmt. Dabei liegt bei jedem Prozessschritt entweder ein Wärme- oder ein Kältebedarf vor. Die Teilprozesse bilden eine zeitliche Abfolge innerhalb des Brauprozesses, welche die Vorstufen des Bieres nacheinander durchläuft. Die in den Kapiteln 3 zum Thema Kälte und in Kapitel 4 zum Thema Wärme dargestellten Grundlagen, liefern die Grundlagen für das Verständnis, des Verhaltens eines Systems im Umfeld von thermischer Energie und bilden die thermodynamischen Kenntnisse, die für die Beurteilung des Transportes, der Erzeugung und der Speicherung von Wärme und Kälte ergeben. Die Wärme und Kältebedarfe in ihrer zeitlichen Abfolge ermöglichen uns unabhängig von gängigen technischen Realisierungen in der Praxis noch einmal in Kapitel 6 die Frage zu stellen, in wie weit zunächst für jeden einzelnen Teilprozess Energieeffizienzverbesserungen durch Eingriff in den Prozess möglich sind. Die Frage der Heranführung der Wärme bei Wärmebedarf des Produktes an das Produkt hat in der Entwicklung der Brauereitechnologie sehr verschiedenen konstruktiven Ausführungen der Maischgefäße und der Gefäße für die Würzebehandlung geführt. An dieser Stelle ist der Einfluss von Veränderungen, welche den Transport von Wärme verbessern könnten, auch auf das Produkt zu hinterfragen. Die modernen Ausführungen der Maisch- und Würzepfannen sind auf ein produktschonendes Verfahren ausgelegt. Änderungen im Anlagenpark erfordern von jeder Brauerei einen langerprobten Umgang, um trotz der Veränderungen an diesen Prozesshilfsmitteln, dennoch die geschmackliche Qualität des Bieres nicht unerwünscht zu beeinflussen. Die Rückführung der Verdampfungswärme beim Kochen und teilweise Verdampfen der Würze in der Pfanne, in den Prozess, unter Beibehaltung des höchstmöglichen Temperaturniveaus dieser Wärme, ist ein Beispiel aus Kapitel 6 für die Effizienzsteigerung des Teilprozesses. Stärker in den produktbeeinflussenden Teilprozess des Maischens greift die Wahl zwischen den zwei etablierten Wärmezufuhrverfahren, dem traditionellen Dekoktionsverfahren und dem in letzter Zeit deutlich überwiegenden Infusionsverfahren. Hier liegt mit der Wahl des letzteren Verfahrens, innerhalb des Teilprozesses Maischen ein Effizienzsteigerungspotential in der Praxis.
Die teilprozessübergreifende Kopplung der einzelnen Verfahrensschritte erlaubt den Transport von Wärme und Kälte, zwischen diesen Teilprozessen, unter Berücksichtigung der zeitlichen Versetzung der einzelnen Teilprozesse. Damit lassen sich Wärme- und Kältebedarfe untereinander bedienen, wenn eine Speichervorrichtung für Wärme auf den jeweiligen Temperaturniveaus vorhanden ist. Das Temperaturniveau der thermischen Energien ist, wie bereits in der Theorie in den Kapitel 3 und 4 gesehen, wo großer Bedeutung. Denn es geht bei der Steigerung der Energieeffizienz des Gesamtprozesses um die Erhaltung des Potentials der Wärme und Kälte trotz naturbedingter Einbußen, welche die Übertragung der Wärme aufgrund eines notwendigen Temperaturgefälles mit sich bringt. Die Kopplung der Teilprozesse entlang des Brauprozesses führt nach der Analyse in Kapitel 6 dazu, dass Energiezufuhr von außen am heißesten Ort entlang der Prozesskette erforderlich ist, da an dieser Stelle des Würzekochens und Verdampfens innerhalb des Gesamtprozesses keine Wärme auf diesem Temperaturniveau „ausgeliehen“ werden kann. Als Resultat erhält man, das eine Dampferzeugung zur Wärmebereitstellung mit einer Temperatur oberhalb der Siedetemperatur von 100°C erforderlich ist, sowie Kältebereitstellung für die kühlen Prozessschritte Gären und Reifen, bei denen die Aufrechterhaltung einer Temperatur bei knapp 0°C gegenüber der wärmeren Umgebung über eine längere Zeitdauer erforderlich ist.
Hiermit kommt man zu der zweiten Fragestellung aus der Einleitung, welche Szenarien der Bereitstellung der Energie, ggf. in Form einer Selbstversorgung der Brauerei sinnvoll ist.
Energetisch ist die Erzeugung von Wärme auf einem vergleichsweise moderaten Temperaturniveau von benötigten 120 bis 140°C durch die Verbrennung des Primärenergieträgers Erdgas im Dampferzeuger nicht optimal. Es bietet sich an, das Gas bei der Verbrennung einen guten Teil seiner Exergie in Reinform zur Verfügung stellen zu können, in dem es z.B. in einem Gasmotor mechanische Arbeit leisten darf, die über einen Generator zu elektrischem Strom veredelt wird, und die Wärmebedarfe in der Brauerei aus dem Abgas und dem Kühlwasser des Motors gedeckt werden. Diese Form des gasbetriebenen Blockheizkraftwerkes (BHKW) ist in der Industrie seit einiger Zeit weit verbreitet. Der Strom deckt Bedarfe durch Elektromotorenantriebe, Kälteerzeugung mit Kompressions-Kältemaschinen, Lüftungsventilatoren, Pumpen und Beleuchtung. Überschüssiger Strom kann ggf. an den Stromversorger verkauft werden.
Der Wärmebedarf für den Brauprozess, sowie für die Wärme im Flaschen- und Fassreinigungsprozess, sowie zur Pasteurisierung des Bier (bei Rückgewinnung eines Teils der Wärme auf leicht niedrigerem Temperaturniveau) wird durch eine Wärmebedarfsauslegung des BHKW weitestgehend gedeckt. In der Ausführung des BHKW sollte berücksichtigt sein, dass die Wärme in ausreichender Menge bei höherer Temperatur durch optimale Nutzung des heißen Abgases entnommen wird, um auf jeden Fall den Dampfbedarf in der Würzepfanne zu decken.
Jordan is deemed as one of the least water-endowed regions in the world. The acute water shortage, accompanied with changing climatic conditions have necessitated the increasing use of treated wastewater (TWW), predominantly in irrigated agriculture sector. This is especially true with the upper Zarqa River. The ample supply of TWW resources can be found there; paradoxically, the practical implementation of TWW reuse is hindered by the enforcement of irrigation water quality standard, compounding pressure on the dwindling groundwater resources. In light of the large potential source of TWW, this study aims to supply knowledge on maximizing the safe reuse of TWW while minimizing the environmental impacts within the local environment of the upper Zarqa River. A SWOT analysis was conducted to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of TWW reuse for agriculture in the local context. In recognition of the projected growth in the treated effluent to more than 135 MCM in the coming ten years, and how it would affect the water use on the study region, several plausible development scenarios were proposed based on expected developments on the ground. Considering the vital role of TWW in sustaining multiple ecosystem services, this study addresses the need to review current standard, encourages managed aquifer recharge with TWW, recommends crops type modification, and enhances knowledge on suitable practices at farm level. Each of these factors is needed in order to deliver a range of ecosystem services to sustain the local rural communities and to advance them in the face of profound challenges, thereby leading to its stability and increased productivity.
Amboseli-Tsavo Ecosystem is a unique landscape in Kenya’s semi-arid rangelands to the border of Tanzania. It is characterized by high abundances of wildlife which frequently disperses between three National Parks, namely Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills. Due to an increased population and a land-use change from prior nomadic pastoralism to sedentary farming activities, the land became highly fragmented and transformed into a human-dominated area. Increasingly wildlife migration routes are becoming blocked, leading to isolation of the National Parks and multiplied human-wildlife conflicts. The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is sadly famous as the most common conflict animal causing damage to properties, cropland and injuring or killing livestock and, in the worst case, people. However, elephants are at the same time a flagship species and represent the backbone for tourism activities around Amboseli. Therefore, the elephant is both a very valuable and problematic asset in the area. Unfortunately, wildlife conservation practices over the last decades, favoring animals over humans, have led to a negative perception of wildlife among the population in the ecosystem which challenges appropriate conservation mechanisms.
To maintain the tourism attraction of viewing elephants and to minimise the conflicts between local communities and animals, migration routes should remain open. The concept of landscape connectivity ensures biodiversity conservation, particularly for far-distance migration animals such as elephants. The elephant was therefore chosen as a keystone species in this study on which the analysis is based.
Using a least-cost path analysis (LCP) in ArcGIS, “cheapest” travel routes of Loxodonta africana between the three National Parks were identified. Factors included were selected and weighted by information gathered in expert interviews. Satellite imagery were classified using ESA SNAP toolbox to obtain vegetation covers and waterbodies for two different seasons (dry and wet), aiming to illustrate the temporal variability of potential connectivity paths. Additionally, key informant interviews and interviews of Group Ranch members around Amboseli National Park were conducted to gather information regarding the current state of management in the ecosystem and perceptions about wildlife management. A subsequent SWOT Analysis on three optimum routes obtained through LCP, takes the social-political factors and information obtained into account to discuss the different options for their conflict solving potential.
On the one hand, recommendations resulting from this study identify possible elephant migration routes that should be maintained by using a participatory conservation approach to secure landscape connectivity in long-term. On the other hand, management recommendations include a design for improved relationships between Group Ranch members and the responsible governmental institutions by equally distributing benefits, implementing financial benefits and establishing a functioning and adequate compensation scheme. By ensuring peoples’ active participation in conservation and wildlife management, a more positive attitude towards wildlife might be induced, which will positively influence the wildlife conflict in long run.