Karl Günter Herweg

The performance of selected soil and water conservation measures—case studies from Ethiopia and Eritrea

Abstract This paper investigates the performance of selected soil and water conservation measures in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea, namely Fanya Juu , soil/stone bund, grass strips and double ditches. The impact of these techniques on runoff, soil loss, crop yield and biomass production is measured at on-farm experimental sites in seven research sites under different agro-ecological conditions. On one hand, most measures brought about a considerable reduction in soil loss and runoff. The latter, however, increases the waterlogging hazard, particularly in sub-humid environments. On the other hand, crop yield and biomass production did not increase, as it would have been necessary to compensate for the high costs of soil conservation. Thus, the measures tested only partially fulfil their requirements. To enhance their adaptability to local conditions, they must be supplemented with biological and agronomic measures that help improve production.

Practical and cost-effective indicators and procedures for monitoring the impacts of rural development projects on land quality and sustainable land management

Abstract The impact(s) of development activities on land quality often become manifest only several years after termination of a project. Baseline studies and cost-effective monitoring needs to be initiated while activities are on-going, and this needs to be continued in post-project activities. This is possible, however, only when relatively simple and cost-efficient monitoring methods are available. These tools, however, are still rare and need to be further developed. An international working group, initiated by GTZ and SDC (Swiss Development Co-operation) and strongly supported by the ‘Land Quality Indicator Initiative’ of the World Bank, developed guidelines for impact monitoring to address this constraint. These included a toolkit of relatively easy to handle and cost-effective methods. The impact monitoring procedure presented involves seven basic steps: identification of stakeholders, identification of core issues, formulation of impact hypotheses, identification and selection of indicators, selection and development of monitoring methods, data analysis and assessment of sustainable land management, as well as information management.

Assessing the sustainability of water governance systems: the sustainability wheel

We present and test a conceptual and methodological approach for interdisciplinary sustainability assessments of water governance systems based on what we call the sustainability wheel. The approach combines transparent identification of sustainability principles, their regional contextualization through sub-principles (indicators), and the scoring of these indicators through deliberative dialogue within an interdisciplinary team of researchers, taking into account their various qualitative and quantitative research results. The approach was applied to a sustainability assessment of a complex water governance system in the Swiss Alps. We conclude that the applied approach is advantageous for structuring complex and heterogeneous knowledge, gaining a holistic and comprehensive perspective on water sustainability, and communicating this perspective to stakeholders.

Soil erosion and conservation in global agriculture

About one-sixth of the world’s land area, that is, about one-third of the land used for agriculture, has been affected by soil degradation in the historic past. While most of this damage was caused by water and wind erosion, other forms of soil degradation are induced by biological, chemical, and physical processes. Since the 1950s, pressure on agricultural land has increased considerably owing to population growth and agricultural modernization. Small-scale farming is the largest occupation in the world, involving over 2.5 billion people, over 70% of whom live below the poverty line. Soil erosion, along with other environmental threats, particularly affects these farmers by diminishing yields that are primarily used for subsistence. Soil and water conservation measures have been developed and applied on many farms. Local and science-based innovations are available for most agroecological conditions and land management and farming types. Principles and measures developed for small-scale as well as modern agricultural systems have begun to show positive impacts in most regions of the world, particularly in wealthier states and modern systems. Much more emphasis still needs to be given to small-scale farming, which requires external support for investment in sustainable land management technologies as an indispensable and integral component of farm activities.

Nachhaltige Entwicklung in die Hochschullehre integrieren – Ein Leitfaden mit Vertiefungen für die Universität Bern. Grundlagen.

Nachhaltige Entwicklung in die Hochschullehre integrieren ist ein Leitfaden, der sich besonders, aber nicht ausschliesslich, an Dozierende aus allen Disziplinen der Universitat Bern richtet, die das Querschnittsthema „Nachhaltige Entwicklung“ in universitare Veranstaltungen aufnehmen und integrieren mochten. Er enthalt kurze, grundlegende Informationen zu den Themen Nachhaltige Entwicklung (NE) und Bildung fur Nachhaltige Entwicklung (BNE) (Grundlagen), sowie praktische Konzepte, Instrumente, Anleitungen, Hinweise, Beispiele, Links und Folien zur Integration dieser Themen in die Lehre (Vertiefungen 1-4). Beim vorliegenden Dokument handelt es sich um die Grundlagen.

Montanaqua: tackling water stress in the alps: water management options in the crans-montana-sierre region (valais)

MontanAqua: Tackling Water Stress in the Alps. Water Management Options in the Crans-Montana-Sierre Region (Valais) GAIA 25/3(2016): 191–193 |

Gewässeranschluss erosionsgefährdeter Flächen

Offsite-Schaden durch Bodenerosion, insbesondere die Gewasserbelastung, haben in der Erosionsforschung deutlich an Relevanz gewonnen. Damit man umweltwirksam und kosteneffizient Verminderungsmasnahmen ergreifen kann, mussen gezielt die Flachen, die sowohl ein hohes Erosionsrisiko als auch einen Gewasseranschluss haben, identifiziert werden. Es wird ein einfaches Risikoab-schatzungstool prasentiert, welches die Ausscheidung von potentiell beitragenden Flachen (critical source areas) bezuglich Sedimenteintrag in die Gewasser der Schweiz ermoglicht.

Wie kann Nachhaltige Entwicklung in bestehende Uni Curricula integriert werden? Erfahrungsaufbereitung anhand von Beispielen der Universität Bern

Steckbrief Das Projekt unterstützt die Bestrebungen der Universitätsleitung, Nachhaltige Entwicklung (NE) in Studiengänge und Kurse der Universität Bern zu integrieren. Es besteht aus einer Bestandsaufnahme von Ansätzen und Erfahrungen mit der Integration von NE und der Reflexion darüber; einer Zusammenstellung von didaktischen und organisatorischen Bedürfnissen; der Entwicklung von brauchbaren und anpassungsfähigen Tools (Guidelines); der anschliessenden Konsultation eines erweiterten Kreises von UniBE-VertreterInnen inkl. Unileitung; der Diskussion der institutionellen Herausforderungen; sowie der Revision der Tools. Darüber hinaus besteht ein Angebot zur Unterstützung bei der Integration von NE durch erfahrene Lehrpersonen.

Maximising the impact of research: the NCCR North-South approach: Fourth NCCR North-South Report on Effectiveness

Interest is growing in the impact that science can have on reducing poverty in the global South. If we understand impact as the “demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy”, the concept encompasses a variety of contributions of research-related knowledge and skills that benefit people and the environment. One reason for the growing interest in impact in this context is research councils’ increasing focus on documenting the social and environmental benefits of science, as indicated by the above quotation from the British research councils. Another reason is that research funding agencies from the private and public sectors are now more interested in social innovations for solving problems on the ground. Research can indeed influence policymakers’ views, policy development, funding patterns, and implementation or practice. This is promising for those who would like to improve – and prove – the influence research can have on policy and practice. It is also of importance for better understanding the intended and unintended effects of research. This report presents the NCCR North-South approach to increasing the impact of development-oriented research. It explains how we can maximise our impact and how we can assess whether our efforts have worked, based on six case studies from around the world. The report is of interest to all researchers who wish to respond to policy and practice from their point of view and who are keen on publicising their evidence. It is also relevant to those who teach how to maximise research impact.

Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes (PAMS): Experience with a transdisciplinary tool in the NCCR North-South programme

Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes (PAMS) are small transdisciplinary projects which bring scientific research insights from the NCCR North-South into policy and practice. They are implemented by researchers from different disciplines in collaboration with non-scientific actors. PAMS aim to implement and test approaches, methods and tools developed in research, in order to identify promising strategies and potentials for sustainable development. In this sense, they are solution-oriented. This paper will provide insights into our experience with PAMS, with a special focus on the implementation of transdisciplinarity and its outcomes. From 2001 to 2010, 77 PAMS were implemented in Africa, Asia and Latin America. An internal evaluation of the first 55 projects was conducted in 2006. Results of this evaluation led to a refinement and improvement of the tool. A second internal evaluation is currently underway in the NCCR North-South. This evaluation will provide an overview of 22 new PAMS. We will look at partners involved, project beneficiaries, activities implemented, outcomes achieved, and lessons learnt. In the first evaluation, transdisciplinarity was considered as “a form of collaboration within scientific fields … and as a form of continuous dialogue between research and society” (Messerli et al., 2007). The evaluation report concluded that this understanding of transdisciplinarity was not satisfactorily applied in the 55 projects. Only about half of the PAMS addressed mutual exchange between researchers and society. Some involved only one specific field of research and clearly lacked interdisciplinary co-operation, and most often knowledge was transferred mainly unilaterally from the scientific community to society, without society having any effect on science. It was therefore recommended to address transdisciplinarity more carefully in Phase 2 PAMS. The second evaluation, which is currently under way, is analysing whether and how this recommendation has been met, based on criteria defined in the NCCR North-South’s Outcome Monitoring Strategy. The analysis is focusing on partners with whom researchers interact and investigating whether practices have changed both in research and society. We are also exploring the role of researchers in PAMS. Preliminary results show that researchers can assume different roles, from direct implementation, mediation, and promotion of social learning between different actors, to giving advice as neutral outsiders.