2020/11/28     Dresden, Germany

A truly integrated management of environmental resources calls for a study of not only the individual components of the Resource Nexus but also the interlinkages between them. From water resources to soil and energy, researchers at UNU-FLORES engage in a number of topics around environmental management. In further advancing the nexus mindset, we also consider the governance as well as the systems perspective. To get an idea of what our researchers have been busy with, here are our recent publications:

Agriculture and Food Security in The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: Water and Climate Change
Marlos De Souza, Yo Nishimura, Jacob Burke, Christophe Cudennec, Petra Schmitter, Amare Haileslassie, Mark Smith, Stephan Hülsmann, Serena Caucci, Lulu Zhang, Bruce Stewart

This chapter highlights where land–water linkages are expected to become apparent in terms of climate impacts and where practical approaches to land and water management offer scope for both climate adaptation and mitigation through agriculture. It also provides an agricultural perspective from which to further engage the United Nations Climate Change Conference in terms of water management.

Capacity Challenges in Water Quality Monitoring: Understanding the Role of Human Development
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Sabrina Kirschke, Tamara Avellán, Ilona Bärlund, Janos J. Bogardi, Laurence Carvalho, Deborah Chapman, Chris W. S. Dickens, Kenneth Irvine, Sung Bong Lee, Thomas Mehner, Stuart Warner

Fine-tuned capacity development programmes for water quality monitoring cannot be fully implemented without systematic analyses on the relationship between human development and capacity challenges for water quality monitoring. This study intends to fill the gap from a global perspective and is based on the latest data on the Human Development Index and an international survey among experts from science and practice.

Impact of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change on Drinking Water Ecosystem Services in Wami River Basin, Tanzania
Resources
Sekela Twisa, Mohamed Mwabumba, Mathew Kurian, Manfred F. Buchroithner

Using the spatial econometric technique, this paper analyses the impact of land-use/land-cover change on water ecosystem services for domestic use upstream and downstream of the Wami River Basin in Tanzania. The results would support decision makers in developing relevant policies and finding sustainable strategies for these services.

Organic Farm Waste Management in Degraded Banana-Coffee-Based Farming Systems in NW Tanzania
Agricultural Systems
Anika Reetsch, Karl-Heinz Feger, Kai Schwärzel, Christina Dornack, Gerald Kapp

Through a survey of 150 farm households in North-West Tanzania, this study examines how smallholder farmers operate degraded banana-coffee-based farming systems and how they apply organic farm waste. Various factors are taken into consideration, such as the amount of biomass production, the availability of food storage technologies, and land size.

Risk and Sustainability Assessment Framework for Decision Support in ‘Water Scarcity – Water Reuse’ Situations
Journal of Hydrology
Andrea Müller, Tamara Avellán, Jochen Schanze

The lack of interconnectedness between risk assessment for water scarcity and sustainability assessment for water reuse challenges decision makers when trying to act. This paper follows a three-step approach exploring the conceptual integration of risk and sustainability assessments in a framework for decision support in ‘water scarcity – water reuse’ situations, hence, paving the way towards an empirical application.

Success Factors for Citizen Science Projects in Water Quality Monitoring
Science of The Total Environment
Anna San Llorente Capdevila, Ainur Kokimova, Saunak Sinha Ray, Tamara Avellán, Jiwon Kim, Sabrina Kirschke

The lack of water quality data can be resolved by involving citizens in data collection. Based on a systematic literature review of 56 peer-reviewed research articles, this paper identifies three sets of factors for successful citizen science projects in water quality monitoring, enabling a systematic analysis and design of projects in the future.

Temporal Issues in Life Cycle Assessment – a Systematic Review
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Stefan Lueddeckens, Peter Saling, Edeltraud Guenther

The outcome of case studies on life cycle assessments can often be undermined due to temporal issues. This systematic literature review analyses the state of science on their definitions, interdependencies, and proposed solutions, and identifies dynamic life cycle assessments as an attractive method for companies.

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