Marcela Quintero

Multiscale Analysis for Promoting Integrated Watershed Management

Abstract Integrated Watershed Management involves many aspects of the biophysical and socio economic world operating at many different scales. It is a complex process since it involves a wide range of stakeholders that live, and compete for limited resources, at different temporal and spatial scales. In order to gain knowledge about appropriate approaches for integrating natural resources management with rural development strategies, this study details a framework designed to implement research and development activities in the Fúquene watershed of Colombia. The framework integrates key spatial information, available at different scales for the site, to facilitate envisioning different land-use scenarios and their impacts upon water resources. Subsequently, selected alternative scenarios of the impact on the identified externalities are analyzed using optimization models. Opportunities for, and constraints to, promoting cooperation among users are identified, using economic games in which more sustainable land-use or management alternatives are suggested. Strategic alliances and collective action are implemented to test the feasibility of environmental and economic alternatives. Their implementation is supported by co-funding schemes designed with private and public stakeholders in the study area. Research needs and limitations of the methodology are discussed. The approach described here shows that integration is accomplished only when different scales of decision-making are considered and if activities at plot detail are linked with effects at the watershed scale.

Hunters and hunting across indigenous and colonist communities at the forest agriculture interface: an ethnozoological study from the Peruvian Amazon

BackgroundWildlife has been traditionally used by forest communities as a source of protein, and the Peruvian Amazon is no exception. The articulation of colonist and indigenous communities to urban centers and markets results in changes in livelihood strategies and impacts on wildlife populations. To address the threat of overhunting and forest conversion, we provide a generalized characterization of colonist and indigenous communities and their hunting activities near Pucallpa, Ucayali, Peru.MethodsA semi-structured household survey was conducted to characterize hunters and describe their prey collections. The data were analyzed by conducting a Kruskal-Wallis test, a multiple regression analysis, and by estimating the harvest rate (H).ResultsLess wealthy households were more actively engaged in hunting for food security and as a livelihood strategy. Additionally, older hunters were associated with higher hunting rates. Although the percentage of hunters was relatively low, estimated hunting rates suggest overharvesting of wildlife. Lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca) were the most frequently hunted prey, followed by red brocket deer (Mazama americana) and primates. While hunting intensity was not significantly different between indigenous and colonist communities, hunting rate disparities suggest there are different types of hunters (specialized vs. opportunistic) and that prey composition differs between communities.ConclusionClose monitoring of wildlife populations and hunting activities is ideal for more accurately determining the impact of hunting on wildlife population and in turn on forest health. In lack of this type of information, this study provides insight of hunting as a shifting livelihood strategy in a rapidly changing environment at the forest/agriculture frontier.

Linking ecosystem services to food security in a changing planet: assessing Peruvian Amazon deforestation using the ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) framework

Extended Abstract. There is an increasing need to incorporate ecosystem services into natural resource management and development-related decision-making. The region surrounding the Amazon city of Pucallpa in Peru has been experiencing fast deforestation events over recent decades. Land use changes from forest to agriculture have had limited success increasing wellbeing for local communities. Timber extraction and the incorporation of oil palm plantations are changing the biophysical environment and human-nature dynamics in the region. Monitoring these changes is necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of deforestation drivers, their socio-economic and political context, their impact on ecosystem services and food security, as well as their future effects in response to climate change. Furthermore, the rapid exploitation of natural resources driven by human activities is a global phenomenon affecting not just the Peruvian Amazon. However, these human-nature interactions are not a one-way phenomenon, it is necessary to develop models that can integrate human activities and perceptions with biophysical information to understand both the effect humans have on the natural system, and also how resulting changes in nature cause concomitant effects on humans; such feedback loops have potential for extreme adverse impacts via tipping points. ARIES is a dynamic modeling platform which uses artificial intelligence techniques to simulate and evaluate these links; following flows of ecosystem services from nature to disaggregated beneficiaries, allowing for differentiated shifts in human behavior which may alter future availability of these ecosystem services. A set of processed-based models are being integrated in ARIES and used in Pucallpa to identify: the changes of ecosystem service flows in response to changes in land-use and climate, the impact and extent of future land-use scenarios to the Pucallpa region, and the essential food provision needs of the local communities. The expected results are intended to inform both natural resource management and policy-making for development activities.