Concepción Piñeiro

Factors influencing local ecological knowledge maintenance in Mediterranean watersheds: Insights for environmental policies

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) has been found to be one of the main bridges to manage biocultural diversity. We analyzed the factors affecting LEK maintenance and transmission in a Mediterranean watershed. We used a mixed methods approach to evaluate the agricultural LEK in three different dimensions: biological, soil and water management, and forecasting. We found that the main factors for its maintenance were the respondents time living in the area and the social relationships established among farmers, which involved partner collaboration and farmer information exchanges. Protected areas also played a key role for maintaining the LEK associated with soil and water management. Finally, we found that outmigration and mechanization were the most important indirect drivers of change underlying LEK erosion. We suggest that environmental policies should focus on promoting this experiential knowledge, considering both intergenerational renewal and the gendered aspects of this knowledge.

Involvement of citizens in hazardous waste management and use of recycling centres in the city of Madrid (Spain)

In Spain, hazardous household waste management by citizens occurs via fixed recycling centres (FRC) and mobile recycling centres (MRC) which usually depend on local governments. This paper addresses a request by the Madrid City Council, in an attempt to improve the service it provides to the city of Madrid. The aim of the study involved analysing the information people possess in relation to hazardous waste and to the use of available equipment, and conducting a post-evaluation of the effectiveness of an environmental communication campaign conducted by the Madrid City Council and aimed at providing awareness of the existence of new FRCs and MRCs. To this end, a questionnaire was conducted with 5644 inhabitants of the city of Madrid. Qualitative data was categorized using content analysis followed by chi-squared tests, considering some socio-demographic characteristics of the sample, such as age or place of residence (district). Communication campaigns influenced citizen awareness of what constituted hazardous waste, of how to properly separate waste and of the existence of FRCs and MRCs. However, few citizens actually used FRCs or MRC (18% across four districts), a fact that might be related to a lack of knowledge of downstream waste treatment issues, or to self-limiting hindrances to householders, such as distance to recycling centres. It is recommended that future communication campaigns investigate householder needs and pre-conceptions in relation to recycling, as well as tailored education aimed at addressing the barriers, perceived or otherwise, facing citizens.

Comportamiento proambiental: estudio del comportamiento de queja ciudadana. Implementación de un sistema participativo de gestión ambiental en Madrid

Resumen La presente investigación tiene como objetivos comprender las variables involucradas en el comportamiento de queja ciudadana respecto del estado de la limpieza urbana. Se analizaron 932 fichas de quejas y sugerencias enviadas por los ciudadanos al Ayuntamiento de Madrid. Se buscaba comprobar si esta conducta de queja es un tipo de comportamiento proambiental y/o una expresión de participación ciudadana. La metodología utilizada mezcla técnicas cualitativas (entrevistas y categorización de datos) y cuantitativas. Los resultados permiten elaborar un mapa diagnóstico de los problemas de limpieza en la ciudad. También se describen las características del comportamiento de queja y la conformación de perfiles de comportamiento específicos para cada tipo de problema ambiental identificado. Concretamente se analiza qué mueve a actuar las personas, a qué atribuyen la causa de los problemas, a quiénes creen afectan las consecuencias, así como las soluciones planteadas. Finalmente, se reflexiona sobre el aporte que esta información entrega al estudio del comportamiento proambiental y participativo, así como las ventajas de elaborar programas de gestión ambiental que favorezcan comportamientos sostenibles en instituciones públicas.

Women and the conservation of agroecosystems: an experiential analysis in the Río Nacimiento region of Almería (Spain) / Mujeres y conservación de agroecosistemas. Análisis de experiencias en la comarca almeriense del río Nacimiento

Abstract Strategies for the conservation of biodiversity need interdisciplinary approaches in order to face the drivers of change that are modifying ecosystems and the communities that manage them. Among these approaches, the dimensions of gender have been under-examined despite their relevance. In this study, we propose to identify and characterize the relationships between different generations of women and agroecosystems and how they have changed, through the study of their individual and collective practices and their underlying motivations for doing so. We conducted qualitative research in 2011 and 2012 in the Nacimiento River watershed (Almería, Spain). Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted, selected through a typological framework elaborated based on the age of the subject and her connection to farming activities. The different discourses provided highlight the need to understand and stimulate the variety of intrinsic motivations and management practices relating to farming activities and to encourage their incorporation into collective strategies.

Responsible consumption with a gender perspective: Consumption discourse and practices surrounding gender equality and sustainability in Madrid / Consumo responsable con perspectiva de género. Discursos y prácticas de consumo en torno a la equidad de género y sostenibilidad en Madrid

Abstract This study aims to examine the role that gender plays in sustainable consumption (SC) initiatives and environmental communication that encourages sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behaviour in Madrid. To do so, this project uses a qualitative methodology to perform a text analysis of 10 sustainable consumption guides and to hold personal interviews (eight experts in environmental communication and training on SC in Spain or/and Madrid) and four group interviews (different people involved in SC initiatives and projects in Madrid). The results describe the consumption-gender relationship in the practice and discourse of the initiatives studied and the people interviewed. We observe that the interviewees encounter several difficulties when applying a gender perspective on sustainable consumption initiatives. This perspective is not very visible in the discourse. The interviewees agree that applying the gender perspective is a chance to transform consumption discourses and practices in order to contribute to greater social justice as part of sustainability. Among the findings, we can highlight the presence of reflections on gender in the discourses, but they are a minority in regular communication on SC and still insufficient in SC practices.