Browsing by Author "unknown"

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Bioenergy: Changing the Water Playing Field
(2007) unknown
"The rapidly increasing interest in bioenergy is changing the water playing field. This spike in attention was evident in Stockholm, where one seminar focused specifically on the topic. Moreover, dozens of informal but passionate discussions took place in the conference corridors, not to mention with the media. The unofficial conclusion: it seems that all sectors, including the water sector, need to be reminded that any talk of agriculturally produced energy supplies begins and ends with water."
Encounter of Cambodian Rice Farmers with War and Rice Diversity
(1997) unknown
"This article examines the rice situation in Cambodia pre-war, during the war and now, and suggests some steps which research and development organisations might take to alleviate potential varietal stress. It begins with a brief section on rice diversity, moves on to provide more detail about rice cultivation in Cambodia and then describes key features of the Cambodian war. Finally it looks at the effect of war on rice diversity in Cambodia and examines some responses to the situation."
Energising Development: Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project
(2005) unknown
"Is investment in hydraulic infrastructure necessary for economic growth? This question was debated by a distinguished group of researchers, policymakers, water managers and donors at the 2005 World Water Week in Stockholm. Based on presentations by a number of experts and case studies from the USA, China, Brazil, Australia, and the Nile Basin, the conclusion was a resounding yes."
Get Ready: Adapting to Water and Climate Change
(2007) unknown
"Changes in water availability are what hit us first with an altered climate. Beyond the stronger, less predictable and more frequent natural disasters resulting from global climate change, regions across the world are already suffering from the effect climate has on the water balance:'Too much or too little water; water at the wrong time or in the wrong place; rising sea levels; and floods in certain regions while drought in others,' as SIWI Executive Director Anders Berntell succinctly stated in his opening address to the World Water Week. 'None of us can say we are prepared for what is in store.'"
The History of 'Hydrosolidarity'
(2002) unknown
"Participants involved in the annual Stockholm Water Symposium, and readers of Water Front, have in recent years become aware of the concept of 'hydrosolidarity.' But as attested by participants at the recent Water Dome and World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa, the term is gaining greater usage and the concept wider acceptance within many water stakeholder groups, fora and initiatives."
La Déforestation dans la Région de Saint-Georges de l'Oyapoc (Guyane Française)
(2002) unknown
"The shifting cultivation, known locally as abattis, is generally practiced on small areas, less than one hectare. It leaves relatively discrete traces, if any at all at average or small scales. However, this method of land clearing is often regarded, rightly or wrongly, as one of the principal causes of tropical deforestation. To evaluate its surface extent and study the recent changes in the spatial use occurring at a local scale, we have studied the example of St.- Georges de l’Oyapock. The study was based on three series of aerial photographies with scales ranging between 1/10 000 and 1/50 000, taken respectively in 1958, 1987 and 1997. After geometric corrections, mosaics of aerial photographies were set up and various land cover and land use types were derived from them by computer-aided photomapping, supplemented by field surveys and ground readings taken in 1998. A spatialised information data base integrated in a GIS was constituted for computer-assisted analysis. With this data base, we drew up land cover maps at different dates, and obtained statistics showing surface extent and spatial distribution of land cover and land use, and their variations in time. The results highlight the role of roads and trails in the agricultural colonization of the Amazonian forest and make it possible to appreciate better the impact of traditional shifting farming on the dynamics of the forest at a local scale. We noted that in 1998, 58% of the shifting patterns are located within a radius of 200 m on both sides of a road or trail, this proportion increases by 83% for a distance of 500 m. Around the settlement of St. Georges, 53% of agricultural parcels still under cultivation are located in a range of 2 kilometers. They represent 28% in arrange of 1 kilometer. Of the total surface area of 3,231 hectares mapped, the agricultural clearings (small clearing and other pasture lands) occupy 16% of the surfaces in 1998, against 11% in 1958. The recent forest conversion pointed out is first of all due to pastures, which thus nibbled 12% of forest cover. However, of the 708 hectares of non-forest surfaces in 1958, 273 hectares are re-covered again by forest in 1998, therefore suggesting a forest recolonization of 8% of the mapped area. Between 1958 and 1998, the rate of local deforestation was 0.26% per year. The use of aerial data integrated in a GIS constitutes an invaluable tool for the follow-up studies of deforestation dynamics at a local scale, in an area that is underpopulated and landlocked. The method used is reproducible and can be adapted to other sites of comparable nature."
Orchestrating for Compatibility of Different Water Uses: 2002 SIWI Seminar Results
(2002) unknown
"The 2002 SIWI Seminar had its emphasis on how to balance human livelihood security and ecological security. The overriding goal was to seek some clarity on what exactly is meant by 'land/water integration taking a catchment-based ecological approach,' an approach promoted by both the Global Water Partnership and the Global Environment Facility following the 2nd World Water Forum in 2000."
Productive World Water Week Advances Global Water Agenda
(2005) unknown
"The 2005 World Water Week in Stockholm, held August 21–27, was a memorable one. By the numbers, the week was a success: nearly 1500 participants from over 100 countries participated, as did more than 80 co-convening organisations."
Water Judged Crucial During World Summit Negotiations
(2002) unknown
"The UN’s World Summit on Sustainable Development, which took place August 26 to September 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa, received mixed grades from the staggeringly diverse array of participating organizations and individuals."
Wholly Water: Time to Act
(2006) unknown
"Over 2200 participants from 140 countries gathered in the Swedish capital for the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm, August 20-26, and an exciting series of plenary sessions, workshops, seminars and side events. The week, hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), featured more than 100 collaborating organisations. The issues addressed were many, such as corruption in the water sector, the role of gender in water distribution, environmental flows, partnerships for improved sanitation, impacts of population growth on water demand, climate change, dietary changes and water use, biotechnology, agriculture, land degradation and water pollution."
Why Balance Water Use?
(2002) unknown
"The Development Target set by the UN Millennium Assembly in 2000 is to halve by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, of those who suffer from hunger, and of those who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water. In the effort to achieve these far reaching goals, freshwater and skillful water resources management will have to play a fundamental role."